Anthony Robert Willier is either guilty of murdering Nathan Marshall or he is the victim of an "incredible combination of circumstances," Crown counsel Oleh Kuzma told the jury during closing submissions Tuesday at Prince George courthouse.
Kuzma focussed in particular on a cellphone recovered from Marshall after his body was found outside his home at 1790 Hemlock St. on the morning of Feb. 17, 2010.
Phone numbers for an "Annie W." and an "Annie W. New" were found on the phone which Kuzma argued were numbers for cellphones owned by Willier.
A search of Telus records showed the corresponding phone numbers belonged to a "Justin James" but Kuzma noted that the agreed statement of facts shows there is no verification process for phone number ownership and added Marshall used the name "Bruce Anderson."
Kuzma recounted testimony that Willier was something of a "'hood celeb" and that onlookers were calling out "we love you, Annie" when he was arrested slightly less than two weeks after the incident.
"That was his nickname, everybody in the 'hood knew him as Annie, he called himself Annie," Kuzma asserted. "There's no doubt that Justin James was Annie and Anthony Willier."
Several text messages sent to "Annie W. New" were found on Marshall's cellphone in the hours leading up to his death. The conversation was about meeting up to pay off a debt and an offer by Willier to sell a shotgun, but Kuzma suggested the motive for the murder dated back to when Marshall allegedly tied up Willier and left him in a basement.
Using the text messages as well as those from another cellphone seized at the time of Willier's arrest, Kuzma painted a picture of Willier trying to lure Marshall out of the house for a meeting at Paddlewheel Park.
Kuzma argued Willier also tried to leave the impression that his girlfriend was with him as a way to make Marshall feel more secure although messages obtained from the cellphone seized from Willier when he was arrested showed she was not with Willier but at home and upset with him.
Marshall insisted he could not leave the house - he was on strict bail conditions that confined him to his house for all but three hours a day, from 9 a.m. to noon - and they began to negotiate an exchange at Marshall's home.
When Marshall suggested Willier come to his side door to make the exchange, Willier insisted Marshall meet him "halfway" and indicated his girlfriend was with him, Kuzma said in reviewing the text messages.
Witness Michael Samche told the court he was with Willier at the time of the shooting. He said Willier drove up to the end of Marshall's driveway and opened fire when Marshall came out of the house.
The last of the messages was sent at 4:41 a.m. and a 61-second phone call followed, Kuzma said. At 4:48 a.m., a 9-1-1 call was received of shots fired from a home on Hemlock St.
Defense lawyer Keith Aartsen maintained the evidence of the cellphone's ownership is circumstantial and raised questions about the timing of the text messages and phone calls. He also dismissed Samche's testimony.
"That is such an incredible story that I put to you that it's the kind of story kids make up, you know 'he did it,'" Aartsen said, saying Samche gave his statement to police only after he was arrested on Marshall's murder.
Supreme Court Justice James Williams will give final instructions to the jury this morning before they're sequestered to reach a verdict. Willier is charged with first degree murder.
