Crown asks man accused of Tatlow Park murder about his mental health during cross-examination

The cross-examination of the man accused of murdering a Vancouver park caretaker started Wednesday and is expected to last days.

Crown prosecutor Colleen Smith opened her cross-examination of the man accused of killing the longtime caretaker of Vancouver’s Tatlow Park by asking about his mental health.

Brent Stephen White, 54, is on trial for the second-degree-murder of 77-year-old Justis Daniel in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.

Paramedics found Daniel dead in his cottage on Dec. 10, 2021, after concerned friends asked for a wellness check because he hadn’t been seen or heard from.

Under direct examination Tuesday, White said he acted in self-defence after Daniel bit him on the neck as they watched TV at the cottage on Dec. 9.

White claimed Daniel told him “I’m Iblis,” the Islamic name for Satan.

White said after the incident he conducted research and concluded that Daniel had vampire-like tendencies.

Smith stepped in at one point during the testimony to ask White’s lawyer Brent Anderson if they would be pursuing a mental illness defence. Anderson said they would not.

As she began her cross-examination Wednesday afternoon, Smith asked White:

“Do you believe you’ve ever hallucinated?”

“No,” White responded.

“Do you believe objects have ever spoken to you?” asked Smith.

“No,” White repeated.

Supporters of Daniel in the courtroom gallery laughed in disbelief throughout White’s testimony, prompting a stern warning from Justice Miriam Maisonville to improve their behaviour.

Among the group was Andrew Brougham, who told CTV News Daniel helped him raise his son, serving as a caretaker for several years.

“He was just an amazing guy,” he said.

Brougham scoffed at White’s version of events.

“There’s either something wrong with him, or he’s just using some blind faith move that the court will listen to him,” he said.

“When I let Justis go in 2017 after working for me for more than a decade, he was such an old frail person, he only has one lung,” he added.

The pathologist who conducted an autopsy on Daniel’s body for the BC Coroners Service previously testified that he identified at least 59 separate injuries to the victim’s face, neck and torso.

The injuries included stab wounds, slashes and blunt-force trauma, several fractures in his face and a broken vertebrae in his neck.

With the trial nearing the end, Brougham said he hopes there “justice for Justis.”

“I just pray and hope that the right thing is going to happen,” he said.

The trial by judge will continue Thursday, when Smith is expected to continue the cross-examination.