Closing arguments made in trial for man accused of murdering Winnipeg taxi driver
Closing arguments were made Friday in the case of a Winnipeg man accused of murdering a Duffy’s Taxi driver.
Lawyers for Okoth Obeing, 22, argued their client didn't have conscious control of his thoughts or actions when he killed 44-year-old Balvir Toor during the early morning hours of Mar.19, 2020 in his cab on Burrows Ave.
“This is truly a tragic case,” defence lawyer Alex Steigerwald told the court Friday. “Mr. Toor was an innocent man who lost his life and nothing can bring him back.
But it was not the same Okoth Obeing sitting before you today. It was a severely ill Mr. Obeing who stabbed Mr. Toor.”
In a lengthy interview with Winnipeg Police Service detectives hours after Toor’s death, Obeing admits to the killing.
“That’s the truth, I told you,” Obeing can be heard telling officers in the video which was played in court. “He’s dead. I killed him.”
Obeing lives with bipolar disorder and an intellectual disability which an expert testified left him unable to use thought to control his behaviour when he reached for his knife and stabbed Toor.
The Crown acknowledged he was suffering from a mental illness but told Court of King’s Bench Justice Joan McKelvey it isn't the only factor in the case.
“When Mr. Obeing got into cab 390 and plunged an eight and a half inch blade into Balvir Toor 17 times, killing him, he was mentally ill…suffering the effects of his bipolar disorder,” Crown attorney Chantal Boutin told the court. “But along with his illness and his eight and a half inch knife with a brass knuckle duster, he also got into Mr. Toor’s cab with his frustrations, his animus and his anger.”
Court has heard Obeing had previous disputes with cab drivers. He acknowledged to police he felt disrespected about being asked for prepayments and that killing Toor was the “best (expletive) feeling in the world.”
“When Mr. Toor disrespected him with yet another demand for an upfront payment that was the last straw," Boutin argued.
Boutin agreed Obeing shouldn't have been discharged from hospital nine days before the stabbing but she argued his actions were intentional and warrant a conviction for second-degree murder.
“Mr. Obeing quieted and told Mr. Toor, ‘just drive bro. Just drive,’” Boutin told Justice McKelvey. “Then he made a deliberate, rational and very conscious choice to get up from in behind the driver’s seat where that plastic shield was.”
He pulled out his knife and asked, ‘how much is it? Five-thousand dollars?’ and stabbed Mr. Toor repeatedly.”
Court has heard Obeing was off his medication at the time and was experiencing an episode of mania which came out in the form of anger and aggression.
The defence argued the evidence has proven he didn't appreciate or understand the physical consequences of his actions and didn’t' have conscious control.
“We ask for a verdict of not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder,” Steigerwald told the court.
“It was because of mental illness that this tragedy occurred.”
Justice McKelvey told the court it will take some time to go through the large volume of evidence presented during the trial.
She expects to deliver a decision on Mar.14 at 9 a.m.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.