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Andrew Berry shown daughter’s clothing at murder trial

Advisory: This story has graphic and disturbing details about a murder case. Andrew Berry bent over in tears Wednesday as a police officer held up his six-year-old daughter’s blood-soaked pyjama top.
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Andrew Berry, centre, is on trial at the Vancouver Law Courts, charged with killing his six-year-old daughter, Chloe, and his four-year-old daughter, Aubrey, at his Beach Drive apartment in Oak Bay. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Felicity Don

Advisory: This story has graphic and disturbing details about a murder case.

Andrew Berry bent over in tears Wednesday as a police officer held up his six-year-old daughter’s blood-soaked pyjama top.

Sniffling could be heard in the courtroom and Berry’s defence lawyer, Kevin McCullough, immediately asked the judge for a quick break. Berry was led out of the courtroom by a sheriff about 12:15 p.m.

The Oak Bay man is charged with the second-degree murder of his daughters, six-year-old Chloe and four-year-old Aubrey, at his Beach Drive apartment on Christmas Day 2017.

He has pleaded not guilty.

When court resumed at 2 p.m., Saanich police detective Corrie Bland continued to testify about the items she had seized from Berry’s apartment in the days after the killings.

Bland, who was the exhibit officer for the case, held up Chloe’s pink and black pyjama top for the jury and Justice Miriam Gropper to see.

“It’s size small and it’s covered with a blood substance. It’s quite crusty in texture,” said Bland. “There are puncture tears on the neck area, the chest area and the arms.”

Bland also showed the jury Aubrey’s long-sleeved pyjama top, purple with white owls, size four.

“If you look at it, you can see that there are puncture holes in the arms, the wrist, the shoulder, the front and, of course, quite a few on the back,” said Bland. “The holes are close to the neck and on the side. There’s multiple holes. There’s not much of the shirt that doesn’t have a mark on it.”

Bland showed the jury a pink and purple baseball bat with a broken handle that was found on the bed entangled in Chloe’s hair.

“We decided the baseball bat was holdback information. It wasn’t in the media. Maybe seven or eight people in the whole investigation knew,” said Bland, explaining that holdback information helped to prevent false confessions.

The detective also showed the jury a black-handled knife with a patterned blade recovered from the floor beside the bed Aubrey was lying in. It appeared to have blood on the blade.

Bland held up blood-soaked jeans and an extra-large T-shirt found on the bathroom floor. Keys to the apartment were found in the pocket of the jeans, she said.

The jury looked at notes to Santa written by the girls. One note found on the table in the living room area read: “Santa this toothbrush has not been used.” Beside the note was a toothbrush in its original plastic wrap, Bland said.

Another note in childish printing said: “Dear Santa, Enjoy the bunny crackers from Chloe and Aubrey, Andy, Merry Christmas.”

Bland also seized a three-page note written in pencil by Berry to his sister, saying he could no longer take “abuses” by his parents and his ex-wife. Bland testified that she read the note in the suite and passed it on to the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit.

Berry’s wallet and its contents were also shown to the jury. The black leather wallet contained Berry’s expired driver’s licence, his Canadian citizenship certificate, a receipt from Roots, Berry’s health care card and four B.C. Lotto Max tickets for Dec. 29, 2017.

Her testimony will continue today.

ldickson@timescolonist.com