After three weeks of testimony, the Crown and defence have presented their closing arguments in the Amber Kirwan murder trial.
Defence lawyer Mike Taylor told the jury to play devil’s advocate when discussing the evidence and to pay close attention to what he said wasn’t found - solid conclusive evidence tying the accused to the crime.
Taylor argued that the Crown’s case is based on circumstantial evidence only, and that there was no “smoking gun.”
“My argument is no. They haven’t proven it beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Taylor.
“Circumstantial evidence is just that. It’s not conclusive of anything. It’s highly questionable. They (the jury) have to ask a lot of questions about the evidence that was put in front of them.”
Crown attorney Bill Gorman said, while the case is circumstantial, the only logical conclusion based on the evidence is that Chris Falconer committed the offence.
“Christopher Alexander Falconer is guilty of the first-degree murder of Amber Kirwan is the message I wanted them to get,” said Gorman.
Falconer is charged with first-degree murder in Kirwan’s death. She disappeared in the early morning hours of Oct. 9, 2011 after spending a night drinking and dancing with friends in New Glasgow.
The 19-year-old was last seen leaving Dooly’s pool hall and bar around 1:45 a.m. and heading for Big Al’s, a convenience store located just up the street.
Kirwan’s boyfriend, Mason Campbell, previously testified that Kirwan was supposed to meet him at Big Al’s but she failed to show up.
Kirwan’s partly-decomposed body was found in a muddy, shallow grave off a logging road in Heathbell, N.S. on Nov. 5, 2011. She was found naked, her wrists bound with a sweater and towel.
The court heard that Kirwan fought back against her attacker, but she bled to death after being stabbed at least 10 times.
Falconer, 31, was charged in her death in May 2012. He has pleaded not guilty.
The Crown alleges Falconer grabbed Kirwan in the early morning hours of Oct. 9 and took her to a camper owned by his stepsister in the Heathbell, N.S. area. The Crown alleges Falconer kept her in the camper until he stabbed her death.
The jury was not shown a murder weapon, given a specific location as to where Kirwan was killed, or told why the crime was committed.
“The precise location where she was murdered, I don’t have the answer to that question. I don’t know. It wasn’t in the camper trailer, that I am confident in saying,” said Gorman.
As for a possible motive, Gorman suggested Falconer killed Kirwan for “fun.”
“Fun on a Saturday night…that was his adventure. He described it himself and those were his words.”
Closing arguments from the defence
Several of Kirwan’s friends who had been with her at Dooly’s the night she disappeared testified at the beginning of the trial.
In his closing arguments, defence lawyer Mike Taylor reminded the jury that Kirwan’s friends had been drinking that night, and so had Kirwan.
He also called into question testimony from one of Falconer’s former girlfriends, Tiffany Robson, who told the court that Falconer often carried Tylenol 3.
A toxicologist previously testified that Kirwan had high levels of codeine in her system, but Taylor pointed out that Robson didn’t tell police about the Tylenol 3 until she heard about the high levels of codeine found in Kirwan’s system in the news.
Taylor also argued it was “highly suspicious” that no one else had mentioned anything about Falconer having Tylenol 3.
Jerricka Ebrahim, another former girlfriend of the accused, testified that Falconer asked her to lie for him if police started asking questions.
But Taylor reminded the jury that Ebrahim couldn’t recall when Falconer asked her to lie and wasn’t specific about when her alibi was supposed to cover his movements.
He also pointed out that Ebrahim had been drunk the night Kirwan disappeared and that she turned to her friends for information about that night before giving police a statement.
Taylor said Ebrahim’s credibility was “highly suspect” and called her “totally unreliable.”
He argued that, if the Crown’s theory was true, and Kirwan had been grabbed, someone would have heard her scream, since she disappeared a short distance from a busy street with crowds of people outside.
Taylor also argued that Falconer cooperated with police and agreed to take a polygraph, and pointed out that Falconer’s DNA was not found on Kirwan or in the camper.
He brought up the camper, reminding the jury that the lock had been broken and that anyone could have walked in. A bloody tank top found in Falconer’s car contained DNA from both Kirwan and Falconer, but Taylor pointed out that there was DNA from a third person on the shirt too.
He concluded that the evidence does not support the Crown’s theory and recommended that the jury acquit Falconer.
Closing arguments from the Crown
Crown attorney Bill Gorman said the Kirwans were living “every parent’s nightmare” and that their daughter was the “light of their lives.” He argued Falconer “snuffed out that light.”
He argued that investigators found critical evidence in the camper in Heathbell, which led them to search Falconer’s car.
Gorman said there was no doubt Kirwan had been in the trailer in Heathbell because her DNA was found on duct tape and fabric seized from the property.
He also brought up the bloody tank top found in Falconer’s car, which contained Kirwan’s DNA. He asked the jury to consider how Kirwan’s DNA could have ended up on the tank top.
Gorman recalled testimony from a textile and fibre expert, who said fabric found in the camper came from Kirwan’s sweater, which had been used to bind her wrists.
Gorman said there is “no doubt” Kirwan was in the camper and that Falconer had been there with her.
He argued that Falconer failed to respond to text messages received in the early morning hours of Oct. 9 because he “had gone off the grid” and was “busy.”
Gorman pointed out two text messages from Falconer that placed him in the Heathbell area shortly after Kirwan disappeared. He recalled Ebrahim’s testimony that Falconer texted her to say he had been at his father’s home the morning of Oct. 9.
Gorman also recalled testimony from Falconer’s stepsister, Alice Meier, who said he told her he had been at her home and put things in her camper.
“The accused puts himself in the Heathbell area, hours after Kirwan’s disappearance,” Gorman said.
He also brought up a text message Falconer sent to Robson, telling her that he was leaving town and wouldn’t be back, as well as a phone call between Falconer and his father.
Gorman pointed out that Falconer told his father he was considering pleading guilty, six months before he had even been charged.
“Innocent people don’t plead guilty. They deny and they fight it,” he said.
As for the lack of DNA evidence placing Falconer at the camper, the Crown alleges Falconer used gloves, as a box of gloves was found in his car.
Nova Scotia Supreme Court Judge Nick Scaravelli advised the jury not to research or monitor any media or online coverage of the trial over the weekend.
He will give his final instructions on Monday before the jury begins deliberations.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh
