Damien Lawrence Taylor in a picture with his girlfriend and the girl he is accused of murdering, C.J. Fowler.
Image Credit: Contributed
October 09, 2015 - 1:16 PM
KAMLOOPS - Both the Crown and the defence have finished presenting their evidence in the Damien Taylor murder trial in Kamloops and jurors will hear closing submissions from lawyers next week.
Taylor is charged with second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend CJ Fowler. The 16-year-old’s body was found December 5, 2012 near a ravine in Guerin Creek.
The Crown called over 20 witnesses in their case against Taylor while the defence called four including the accused himself.
Taylor spent over a day on the stand telling his narrative of the events leading to Fowler’s death. He said he experienced a drug psychosis after ingesting cocaine, heroin, meth, ecstasy and marijuana over a several-day bender in Kamloops. He testified he blacked out after he and Fowler left the Royal Inland Hospital together around 3 a.m. on Dec. 5 and woke up next to her body.
When he discovered Fowler was dead, Taylor said he had the urge to run and changed his clothes so he could run faster before departing Kamloops on a Greyhound bus for Prince George.
The evidence Crown lawyers presented challenged Taylor’s theory, with prosecutors suggesting he was not experiencing psychosis before Fowler’s death. Throughout trial the Crown has examined three different versions of the events as told by Taylor, which included a confession he now says was false.
The trial resumes on Tuesday, Oct. 13 with closing arguments from the Crown and defence lawers in Kamloops Supreme Court.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015