A B.C. Supreme Court jury was shown wire cutters, a hammer, knives, Vise-Grips — even two bloody and damaged doors — recovered from the crime scene where Langford resident Gordon Berg was killed on March 7, 2011.
The unusual exhibits and dozens of photographs were shown to the jury by RCMP forensic identification officer Sgt. Nav Hothi, who testified Tuesday at Joseph Knelsen’s first-degree murder trial for the death of Berg.
The 53-year-old was found dead in a pool of blood in the downstairs kitchen at 2557 Jeanine Dr. He had suffered at least 10 blows to the head and five stab wounds.
Knelsen, 46, is also charged with break and enter, forcible confinement, assault with a weapon, assault and uttering threats. He has pleaded not guilty.
Hothi testified that on March 8, 2011, she was asked by members of the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit to conduct a forensic investigation at the house and spent two days working with other officers.
The house was in a semi-rural area with very little street lighting, she said. Sometimes the lights inside the house would flicker on and off.
Hothi showed the jury photographs of two utility boxes at the side of the house. The upper box had a broken casing. The lower box was broken and two wires had been cut, the officer testified.
She also showed photos she had taken at the back of the house, showing a broken window with its screen lying on the ground near a red-handled screwdriver and red wire cutters.
Hothi also photographed a stepstool under the upper kitchen window. Its screen was also lying on the ground.
The jury has heard that Berg and his girlfriend, Laura Carey, were playing cards when a masked man burst through the window spraying bear spray on the early morning of March 7, 2011. Hothi showed photos of the cards, still on the bed, and shards of glass on the bedroom floor.
The eight-man, four-woman jury looked at photos of Berg lying on his right side on the kitchen floor. The photos show blood stains on the kitchen floor, knife, refrigerator, cabinets, stove and microwave.
Crown prosecutor Tamara Hodge asked a sheriff to show the jury the screwdriver, hammer, knives, Vise-Grips and what appeared to be a homemade mask sewn from black fleece, found in the back yard.
Hothi photographed blood in the foyer, on the banister, on the wall half-way up the stairs and on the spindles of the upper railing.
West Shore RCMP Const. Jonah Todd carried the master bedroom door and the bathroom door into the courtroom for the jury to see.
Hothi testified that she found blood on the master bedroom door, the doorknob and the door trim. She also found a large hole and a smaller hole in the door. The bathroom door was also bloody and damaged.
Today, Knelsen’s defence lawyer Peter Firestone is expected to cross-examine the officer.
