Crown accuses Minassian’s father of changing testimony to aid son in Toronto van attack trial

Warning: Details of the trial are graphic in nature, discretion is advised

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Whether or not Alek Minassian cried when left alone during a police interrogation following Toronto’s deadly van attack became the centre of focus in the virtual trial Tuesday.

If he did, the Crown argued, it could mean he had the emotional intelligence to know right from wrong, derailing his legal team’s bid to have him found not criminally responsible for murdering 10 people and injuring 16 others.

The cross-examination of Alek Minassian’s father, Vahe or “Vic” as he’s known, centered around whether or not he actually witnessed his son display that emotion following the attack.

The defense’s ‘not criminally responsible’ case rests on its claim that the accused lacks the ability to empathize and to understand the impact his actions have on the world.

The Crown pressed Vahe Minassian on Tuesday, alleging that he changed his opinion on whether Alek cried to help his son evade responsibility for his actions.

Vahe earlier admitted that at his initial meeting with forensic psychiatrist, Dr. John Bradford, he told the doctor it looked like Alek was crying in the interrogation video.

During Monday’s testimony, however, Vahe told the court after watching the video again, he realized his son wasn’t actually crying, but was merely talking to himself.

“What you saw was significant to you, you saw your son crying and you told Dr. Bradford?” the Crown pressed.

“No I don’t agree with your characterization that you provide,” the elder Minassian responded on Tuesday.

In an effort to prove the accused knows right from wrong, the Crown even referenced a high school assignment Minassian completed on the Holocaust in 2008.

In the assignment he wrote: “Hitler shouldn’t have sent the Jewish people to extermination camps because that’s murder and it’s wrong to kill people.”

The Crown read portions of Dr. Bradford’s notes from his conversation with Vahe. Bradford wrote in part: “I explained again from a legal perspective that although Alek has a mental disorder — high functioning autism spectrum disorder — on its own has never been used” for a not criminally responsible defense.

The Crown insinuated that after learning more about the defence team’s strategy, Vahe altered his opinion on whether his son cried.

“You learned from the doctor who assessed Alek, that his ability to display emotion is incredibly important at this trial?” the Crown asked?

“We were doing our best to provide as much information as possible,” he responded. “You’re not thinking how will this information be used.”

CityNews reporter Adrian Ghobrial is covering the trial, follow his tweets below:

 

 

Alek Minassian has pleaded not criminally responsible to 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder, with his defence team arguing that he lacked the capacity to rationally decide whether the act was right or wrong.

The defence said he should be found not criminally responsible for his actions that day due to autism.

Alek Minassian's defence council argue their client shouldn't be held criminally responsible for his actions during the Toronto van attack that left 10 dead and 16 injured because he's been diagnosed with Autism spectrum disorder. Autism Canada has released this in response ???? https://t.co/dLSeOEB8R3

— Adrian Ghobrial (@AdrianGhobrial) November 17, 2020

Vahe “Vic” Minassian told the court Monday that on the day of the fatal attack, April 23, 2018, his son said he was going to meet a friend at a Chapters store in Woodbridge and he offered him a ride. “It was a sunny day and the conversations were very positive,” he said.

Later that day, Vahe was pulled over by a police officer and told they were investigating an incident involving a rental car, and that the person had used their address.

At the police station he was told someone in his family was associated with what he called “the accident” and it began to dawn on him that “something big, something substantial” had taken place.

He testified that police didn’t initially tell him Alek was involved, and that he learned the terrible truth when he saw the police take-down video of his son being arrested.

It was like “being struck by lightning on a sunny day twice,” he testified, saying he was in a “complete state of shock and confusion.”

“How is this even possible?” he says he asked himself as he watched the video.

Vahe also told the court his son has not shown remorse or apologized for his actions. He said his son told him he hasn’t done anything wrong.

Alek’s state of mind at the time of the attack is the only issue at play in trial after he admitted to planning and carrying out the attack.