York U ‘webcam’ murder case now in jury’s hands

The fate of an accused Toronto man in the death of a York University student from Beijing is now in the hands of a jury.

Brian Dickson, 32, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, but his lawyer has urged the jury to find him guilty of manslaughter. However, the Crown rejected the latter plea at the start of the six-day trial.

The Crown believes his culpability is greater and that he should be found guilty of first-degree murder.

Dickson’s lawyer Robert Nuttall acknowledged Dickson sexually assaulted Qian Liu, 23, but said his client didn’t mean to kill her.

Liu had been chatting via webcam with her ex-boyfriend in China in the early morning hours of April 15, 2011, when he saw a man force his way into Liu’s off-campus room and knock her down.

The courtroom was packed Monday morning as Justice Anne Molloy delivered her closing instructions to the jury.

Liu’s parents, who flew from China and were present for the trial, were again in the courtroom on Monday. Dickson’s parents sat on the opposite side of the room.

Before instructing the jurors, the judge went through the three forensic pathologists’ evidence of the cause of death.

One forensic pathologist concluded Liu’s cause of death was unascertained, though mechanical asphyxiation — which could include neck or chest compression — was the best overall explanation.

A second forensic pathologist definitively concluded it was mechanical asphyxiation and said the evidence did not fit with the defence’s chest-sitting scenario.

In her instructions to jurors, Justice Malloy said they must decide how Lui’s death came about and Dickson’s level of intent.

The defence has conceded that Dickson is guilty of manslaughter and that there is no evidence he intended to kill her.

The jury must find whether he is guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter.

The judge said the jury needs to answer the four following questions:

• Did he unlawfully cause her death?
• Did he have the state of mind for murder?
• Did he sexually assault her?
• Were the sexual assault and murder one continuous event?

The jury left for deliberations at around 1 p.m. on Monday.

More trial background

During the trial, Nuttall said the evidence fits with a scenario of Dickson sitting on Liu’s chest with her neck cricked while he was “sexually excited.”

The Crown argues that Dickson — who was a tenant in the same building — forced himself on Liu, which is what the ex-boyfriend witnessed via webcam, then killed her to cover it up.

The ex-boyfriend, Xian Meng, testified that after the sound of two muffled bangs he said he heard no more sounds from Liu. After a period of silence he heard the man breathing heavily and moments later the man appeared naked in front of the webcam and turned off the computer, Meng testified.

Liu was found dead mostly naked and face down on the floor of her off-campus basement apartment.

An earring was missing from one ear, her nightgown was rolled up to her chest and her underwear and tights were in the corner of the room. Semen was found on her thigh and groin and a bodily fluid likely either semen or saliva was on her breasts.

The semen, which a forensic biologist testified matched Dickson’s DNA to an astronomical probability, was not deposited on Liu until after she was dead, the Crown suggested.