'Bloody money and drugs': Former Halifax med student testifies at his murder trial
'Bloody money and drugs': Former Halifax med student testifies at his murder trial
HALIFAX -
A former medical student accused of fatally shooting another student during a drug deal says he fired his gun in self-defence after a struggle in his Halifax apartment, saying he didn't call police because he was terrified he would face charges.
"I knew there was nothing I could do for him," William Sandeson, a former track athlete at Dalhousie University, told his jury trial Monday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court. "There was bloody money and drugs everywhere .... I was definitely going to jail for something."
Sandeson, 30, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the Aug. 15, 2015, death of Taylor Samson, a Halifax drug dealer and Dalhousie physics student who was 22 years old when he was killed.
Testifying in his own defence, Sandeson said he was a small-time drug dealer who wanted to buy nine kilograms of marijuana, which he planned to sell at a profit, mostly to other university students and fellow track athletes at Dalhousie.
The Crown alleges Sandeson fatally shot Samson shortly after he arrived at Sandeson's apartment on Henry Street around 10:30 p.m. The motive, according to the Crown, was financial gain as the accused had a large line of credit to pay off after attending medical school in the Caribbean.
Sandeson testified that prior to the drug deal, he was told Samson had taken part in a home invasion and robbery involving another drug dealer, who at the time owed Sandeson about $13,000 for an outstanding loan. The accused said he planned to confront Samson about the robbery during the drug deal.
The court heard that Samson arrived at the apartment carrying a large duffel bag filled with nine kilograms of marijuana, which he planned to sell to Sandeson for $40,000.
Sandeson said he emptied the bag to inspect the contents, then he placed two kilograms back in the bag and handed the victim $10,000 in $20 bills. When Samson asked for the rest of what he was owed, Sandeson said he told him about the home invasion and said, "You're lucky you're getting away with anything at all."
At that point, Sandeson said he lifted up his sweater to reveal a handgun in his pocket and ordered Samson to leave.
But instead, Samson appeared to immediately calm down. Sandeson said Samson then made a threatening remark and lunged at him, trying to wrestle the gun from his pocket.
"We both had our hands on the gun at various points and eventually it was pulled out," Sandeson said in a quiet monotone. "I was twisting away from him trying to keep my body between him and the gun and he ended up with both arms around me and we jostled for control."
Sandeson said he managed to break free with the weapon.
"I pointed at him with both hands and I screamed at him to get the f....k out of my apartment," Sandeson said, his tone unchanged. "He kind of sneered and said, 'You're done.' And he lunged out of the chair toward the gun. And I pulled the trigger."
Sandeson, his voice cracking slightly, said he couldn't hear anything after the gun went off. He said he noticed that Samson had slumped into a kitchen chair and was bleeding profusely from either his head or neck -- and he wasn't moving.
"I heard this breath that didn't sound natural," he told the court. "I went to check him for a pulse and I noticed there was blood everywhere on his head and neck. I ran to my neighbour's apartment to tell them they had to get out of there."
Responding to questions from defence lawyer Alison Craig, Sandeson said he pulled the trigger "to keep him from killing me."
The court has heard that two of Sandeson's teammates on the track team, Justin Blades and Pookiel McCabe, were in the apartment across the hall. Both men testified that they ran to Sandeson's apartment, where they saw a large man slumped forward in a kitchen chair and bleeding, his head almost between his knees.
Blades testified he heard a distraught Sandeson say that he needed to clean up. But on Monday, Sandeson said it was Blades who repeatedly suggested that the apartment had to be cleaned and that the accused denied earlier testimony indicating that he had asked Blades to get a car.
Sandeson went on to describe how he placed Samson's body in the duffel bag and carried it to the trunk of his car. The accused also confirmed he used bleach to clean his apartment and that he disposed of blood-spattered items, including some money, by placing it in a recycling bin.
Early the next day, Aug. 16, 2015, Sandeson said he decided to dispose of the body by dumping it in a tidal river that feeds to the Bay of Fundy. He said he concealed the body under garbage bags, knowing that the bay's powerful tides would soon take it away.
Sandeson was arrested two days later.
"I was terrified, in total shock," Sandeson said. "I didn't know what to do .... It didn't seem real."
He confirmed that after the shooting, he sent out purposely misleading texts suggesting to others that Samson had failed to show up for the drug deal.
The court proceeding, now in its fifth week, marks the second time Sandeson has been put on trial for killing Samson. A verdict from a trial in 2017 was overturned on appeal and a second trial was ordered in 2020.
On Monday, Crown prosecutor Carla Ball was cross-examining Sandeson when she suggested that among the skills he picked up while attending the Saba School of Medicine in the Caribbean was the dissection of human bodies.
"You knew exactly how to dissect a body," Ball said, adding that among Sandeson's courses was an anatomy class that included the dissection of cadavers.
Sandeson replied: "Dissecting is the opening of a body to look inside."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2023.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's calls for protests ahead of his anticipated indictment in New York have generated mostly muted reactions from supporters, with even some of his most ardent loyalists dismissing the idea as a waste of time or a law enforcement trap.
Officials are still looking for victims after a fire ripped through a building in Old Montreal last week, killing at least one person. At a press conference Monday morning, spokespersons for the Montreal police and Montreal fire department said six people are still missing. They come from various locations in Quebec, Ontario and the U.S.
An Ontario woman has launched a lawsuit seeking $500,000 from Tim Hortons after she suffered major burns from an alleged ‘superheated’ tea. The company has denied all allegations and said she was ‘the author of her own misfortune.'
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to meet with Vladimir Putin in a political boost for the isolated Russian president after the International Criminal Court charged him with war crimes in Ukraine.
Even at one of the tallest natural peaks on Earth, humans have left their mark in a trail of bacteria as researchers have found germs from coughing and sneezing that have been potentially preserved for centuries on Mount Everest.
Shares of Credit Suisse plunged 60.5 per cent on Monday after banking giant UBS said it would buy its troubled Swiss rival for almost US$3.25 billion in a deal orchestrated by regulators to try to stave off further turmoil in the global banking system.
March 20 marks the first day of Spring in the northern hemisphere, and, after a long, grey winter, Torontonians can soon look forward to warmer temperatures and sunnier days.
An Ontario woman has launched a lawsuit seeking $500,000 from Tim Hortons after she suffered major burns from an alleged ‘superheated’ tea. The company has denied all allegations and said she was ‘the author of her own misfortune.'
The Town of Strathmore and Siksika Nation hosted the first Lead By Example Powwow this weekend in honour of a young Indigenous man who was shot to death four years ago.
Autopsies confirmed gunshot wounds as the cause of death for two constables responding to a domestic dispute Thursday, the Edmonton Police Service says.
Officials are still looking for victims after a fire ripped through a building in Old Montreal last week, killing at least one person. At a press conference Monday morning, spokespersons for the Montreal police and Montreal fire department said six people are still missing. They come from various locations in Quebec, Ontario and the U.S.
Two families were displaced early Monday morning after a fire ripped through a building in Montreal's Quartier Latin. No one was injured, according to the Montreal fire department (SIM).
Autopsies confirmed gunshot wounds as the cause of death for two constables responding to a domestic dispute Thursday, the Edmonton Police Service says.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in 'What Happened to Ben' on CTV W5.
An Ontario woman has launched a lawsuit seeking $500,000 from Tim Hortons after she suffered major burns from an alleged ‘superheated’ tea. The company has denied all allegations and said she was ‘the author of her own misfortune.'
Lane restrictions are now in place on Wellington Street as construction gets underway on Phase 1 of the Wellington Gateway and Municipal Infrastructure Improvements project.
The first day of spring in the London region will be a beautiful one. The daytime high is forecast to be 6 C, slightly warmer than the average high for this time of year.
One person has been confirmed dead and six people remain missing as police continue to search for victims after a fire swept through a building in Old Montreal on Thursday.
The Rideau McDonald's Farewell March brought people from across the city, some dressed in costumes, who wanted to say goodbye to a part of what they say makes Ottawa Ottawa.
If you are yearning to walk the trails around Mud Lake in the Britannia Conservation Area, be aware there are wild turkeys looking for mates. A gang of three have been chasing and pecking at visitors to the nature trail for weeks.
Vancouver firefighters were called to the Downtown Eastside Sunday evening after a fire destroyed multiple tents in an encampment and spread to a building near Main and East Hastings streets.
An international student was swarmed and beaten by a group of people who ripped off his turban and dragged him across the sidewalk by his hair in Kelowna, B.C., Friday evening, according to a local politician.
Travel nurses go from place to place, all over the world, filling in wherever help is needed. To assist with current shortages, some are in Saskatchewan.
Pile O Bones hosted their 18th annual tattoo convention at the Turvey Centre on the weekend where artists from around the country were able to highlight their talent.
Some residents of Saskatchewan's capital city have been vocal with their disapproval of Tourism Regina's latest rebrand, prompting an apology from the organization.
Mounties in Port McNeill violated a suspect's Charter rights by failing to allow him to contact a lawyer promptly after his 2019 drug trafficking arrest, a judge has ruled.
