William Sandeson’s former roommate took the stand at his first-degree murder trial at Nova Scotia Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Sandeson is accused of murdering 22-year-old Taylor Samson, a fellow Dalhousie University student, during a deal to buy 20 pounds of marijuana.
Former roommate Dylan Zinck told the court he had been living with Sandeson at the apartment on Henry Street in Halifax when Samson disappeared on Aug. 15, 2015.
Zinck told the court that he had been spending a lot of time at his girlfriend’s home in August 2015, but that he went back to his apartment a few times a week.
He testified that Sandeson told him on Aug. 14, 2015 not to come home past 8 p.m. the following night. Zinck said he stopped by the apartment at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015 and stayed for about 10 minutes.
Zinck said he didn’t return to the apartment until Sunday evening, and that he and Sandeson chatted about the cleanliness of the apartment. Zinck also testified that Sandeson told him he had thrown out their shower curtain. The former roommate told the court the roof of the building was accessible through his bedroom window.
The court also heard from Const. Illya Nielsen, who told the court officers found a blue Adidas bag and three garbage bags in what was referred to as an old ice cream truck on the Sandeson family farm.
"There was a strong decomposing rotting smell coming from this bag," said Nielsen.
Nielsen says inside the Adidas bag there was a large black duffel bag and towels that were extremely wet.
Inside the garbage bags found at the scene were a blue tarp, shower curtain, cloths, unused garbage bags and disinfectant spray.
In another garbage bag 11 metres from the truck, a letter from a bank addressed to William Sandeson was found.
Nielsen attended Sandeson's brother's home on Chestnut Street in Halifax six days after Taylor Samson was last seen. He showed the court large quantities of marijuana seized from the residence, and told the jury the fingerprints did not match either Sandeson's or Samson’s.
Nielson also told the court officers seized a morph suit. In an interrogation video, Sandeson told police unknown intruders in morph suits were the ones who killed Samson.
Court has previously heard from two witnesses who said they saw a man slumped over a chair inside Sandeson’s apartment the night of Aug. 15, 2015. Pookiel McCabe, who lived across the hall from Sandeson, and his friend Justin Blades both testified that they had seen a pool of blood, bloodied money, and drugs on the floor in Sandeson’s kitchen.
The trial continues on Wednesday.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kayla Hounsell.
