Closing arguments presented at Wasaga Beach trailer park assault trial
The defence and Crown spent more than two hours trying to convince the judge of their version of events during closing submissions in the trial of Gary Costa, the man accused of a violent assault in a Wasaga Beach trailer park.
Costa, 42, is accused of leaving his neighbour with serious injuries, including a brain bleed, in July 2022.
Costa's lawyer argued for his innocence, citing a lack of physical evidence and questioning the credibility of the alleged victim.
"He has a history of lying. He has a history of violating court orders. He has a history of violence, and in this case, we know that he lied to the police. He changed his stories within about 24 hours of the incident occurring. We know that he is an alcoholic, had a blood alcohol content of 240 the following morning when he was admitted to hospital," defence counsel Allison Cormie-Bowins told the court.
Costa testified during the trial, maintaining that he never laid a hand on his neighbour.
Gary Costa, 42, outside the courthouse in Collingwood, Ont., on Fri., March 15, 2024. (CTV News/Mike Arsalides)
The defence added, "The issue in this case is what happened and who, if anyone, is responsible," and urged the judge to consider Costa's testimony as reliable and truthful.
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
In contrast, the Crown painted Costa as motivated by escalating tensions between him and his neighbour, stemming from several incidents, including the firing of a BB gun and the man's friend allegedly exposing himself in front of Costa's children.
The prosecution asserted that Costa, fueled by frustration, launched a vicious attack on his neighbour.
"For no known reason to him, Mr. Costa comes charging into his trailer, attacked him, leaves him grievously injured," the Crown stated.
Picture taken of the Gary Costa's neighbour after he was allegedly assaulted in 2022 in Wasaga Beach, Ont. (Court exhibit)
The court was presented with exhibit photos from inside Costa's neighbour's trailer, where blood could be seen. The Crown alleged that Costa beat the man and left him bloodied.
Image shown to the court from inside the alleged victim's trailer appears to show blood on the walls. (Court exhibit)
Image shown to the court from inside the alleged victim's trailer appears to show blood on the floor next to a broken chair. (Court exhibit)
The court was also shown several surveillance videos with what appeared to be the alleged victim intoxicated, stumbling and falling over.
The defence said the neighbour has brain atrophy from a history of head injuries and potentially the effects of alcoholism.
"Despite everything, he has absolutely no bad blood with Mr. Costa. He either does not remember what happened, or he is lying, and I don't know which one it is. And because I don't know which one it is, neither can Your Honour," the defence argued.
The trial is scheduled to reconvene later this month to set a judgment date.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
Here's what every key witness said at Donald Trump's hush money trial. Closing arguments are coming
After 22 witnesses, including a porn actor, tabloid publisher and White House insiders, testimony is over at Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York.
More seniors are using homeless shelters. Here's why, according to experts
One of the country’s homeless shelters has seen an uptick in the number of people through its doors, including more older adults over 50.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Norway hands over papers for diplomatic recognition to the Palestinian prime minister
Norway on Sunday handed over diplomatic papers to the Palestinian prime minister in the latest step toward recognizing a Palestinian state, a largely symbolic move that has infuriated Israel.
Man or machine? Toronto company finds a way to determine how real audio clips are
The Toronto-based research arm of life sciences technology firm Klick Health has found a way to analyze voices in a manner that’s so granular, it can tell whether it's a person or an artificial intelligence-powered machine.
J.H. Tabaret statue at uOttawa vandalized
The statue of J.H. Tabaret at the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) has been vandalized, as a picture taken by CTV News shows red paint sprayed all over it.