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February 11, 2015 - 9:30 AM
KAMLOOPS - A man accused of killing his friend by stabbing him 73 times told an RCMP investigator he originally lied about what happened to cover up his bisexuality.
Cory Bird, 27, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Albert Michell in August 2008.
A B.C. Supreme Court trial heard Bird fled to Montreal where he was arrested for Michell’s murder, but, two days later, back in B.C. and in custody, admitted to police he lied during his first interview.
Bird had initially told police that Michell first came at him with a knife, demanding sex.
“It’s a lie,” Bird told Cpl. Cam Holloway, a major crime investigator, on a video played before a 12-person jury.
“He didn’t come at me with a knife."
Bird told the investigator that the only reason he made up those stories was so friends and family wouldn't know he was bisexual.
In repeated questioning, Bird told Holloway he could not explain why he stabbed Michell.
He said he split about 15 beers and a bottle of liqueur with Michell that evening before falling asleep, and woke up in a drunken stupor to find Michell giving him oral sex.
Throughout the interview, Bird called Michell a “nice guy” who hadn’t made sexual advances to him in past.
“I’ve never had the urge to kill,” Bird said. "It wasn’t an urge — I just did it.”
Bird was distraught at times during hours of police interviews and broke down, particularly when he was confronted by the fact he stabbed Michell more than the seven times to which he admitted.
“You times that by 10 and you’d be closer to the truth,” Holloway told him.
Bird appeared astonished.
"I'm shell-shocked," he said.
Before the second interview, court heard Holloway travelled with Bird — who was under arrest and in handcuffs — on a passenger flight from Montreal to B.C.
Holloway testified that they spent hours talking, with Bird asking questions and carrying conversation about everything from pop culture to religion.
“Mr. Bird was very inquisitive,” Holloway said.
“He asked a lot of questions and was very personable.”
News from © The Canadian Press, 2015