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'Walked into a nightmare:' Defence closing submissions in Barrie, Ont., double-murder trial

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Barrie, Ont. -

Warning: Readers may find some details in this story distressing

Closing submissions are underway in the double-murder trial of Dyrrin Daley, accused of stabbing a Barrie, Ont. father and son to death in February 2017.

Daley is charged with first-degree murder in Nick Pasowisty's death and second-degree murder for the death of Pasowisty's father, James Pasowisty.

The father and son were killed in their William Street apartment in the early morning hours of Feb. 8, 2017.

Daley's lawyer, James Harbic, told the court Wednesday morning that the Crown's forensic evidence failed to prove his client forcibly confined 19-year-old Nick Pasowisty before he died.

The Crown had argued the accused restrained Pasowisty in multiple areas of the home in an attempt to rob the pair.

The accused testified he went to the home to buy marijuana around 3 a.m. and brought a duffel bag with items to trade, including a pellet gun, a special forces tactical flashlight, and an expandable baton.

He told the court he went into a trance-like frenzy after alleging 51-year-old James Pasowisty called him a racial slur and attacked him.

Daley told the court he acted in self-defence in fear for his life after being tackled. He said the duo attempted to throw him off the balcony, and that's when he pulled out a double-edged knife to fend them off.

Testifying he never intended to kill them, Daley said he left his duffel bag behind when he couldn't find it and grabbed Nick's PlayStation 3 as collateral for the future return of his things.

Harbic told the court that had Daley wanted to murder the father and son, he would have ensured they were dead before leaving. "If he really wanted to kill these people, he would have checked on them."

"Is that the mind of a murderous thug?" Harbic asked. "To think down the road, 'I'm going to get my stuff back.' That's the mind of a young person who was in way over his head - that walked into a nightmare and is paying for it every day."

The court previously heard Nick and James were found with 38 and 35 stab wounds, respectively.

Nick Pasowisty and James Pasowisty can be seen in these undated photos. (Facebook/ Instagram)

Nick Pasowisty (19) and his father, James Pasowisty (51) (Undated Photo)

Daley, who was 24 at the time, was arrested later the same day, admitting to police he stabbed the two men, claiming he did so in self-defence.

Last week, Daley, his lawyer, the Crown prosecutors and the justice made a rare visit to the William Street home to gain context to evidence the court heard during the month-long trial.

With his hands and ankles in cuffs, Dyrrin Daley leaves the William Street home where the Crown attorney said he brutally murdered James and Nick Pasowisty four years ago. Fri. June 11, 2021 (Mike Arsalides/CTV News)

The defence lawyer said the visit was to "enable the court to see how small the apartment was, how everything happened in close proximity."

While on the witness stand last week, Daley apologized to the Pasowistys' family and friends, saying he was "truly remorseful and sorry."

Meanwhile, the Crown called the deaths of the father and son "a massacre" during cross-examination, accusing Daley of telling "a rich story" and "a rehearsed act."

The Crown is expected to make its closing submissions Thursday.

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