Man accused of murdering Winnipeg taxi driver became aggressive, swore a lot when off medication, brother tells trial
The brother of a Winnipeg man charged with second-degree murder for the March 2020 homicide of 44-year-old Duffy’s Taxi driver Balvir Toor took the stand Thursday as defence lawyers began calling evidence in the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench trial.
Okoth Obeing, now 22, has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Toor was stabbed repeatedly with a large knife in a killing that was captured on camera inside the victim’s taxi.
Defence lawyer Alex Steigerwald has indicated outside court the case will focus on mental health and what role the accused’s mental health played in what happened.
The Crown, which has acknowledged in court the trial is about state of mind, is arguing Okoth felt animosity towards South Asian people and had a dislike of taxi drivers due in part to prepayment requests which the Crown suggested in court he perceived as disrespect. Prosecutors aren’t disputing he was suffering some effects of his mental illness after he stopped taking his medication but are arguing he’s criminally responsible because he understood the nature of his act and knew it was wrong.
Pajack Obeing, 24, testified Thursday he and his younger brother grew up with their family in Ethiopia where his mom worked as a farmer and his father a fisherman before they came to Canada in 2008.
Pajack told the court war forced the family of 10 to move within Ethiopia before coming to Canada and recalled an incident when he was nine and Okoth was six that left his younger brother traumatized.
He testified they and a friend took a mango and were subsequently chased by a man with a machete.
“For Okoth it really affected him, traumatized him,” Pajack testified. “We were running and we kind of left him behind.”
When the family arrived in Canada, Pajack told the court both he and Okoth had difficulty in school due in part to language barriers.
He testified Okoth was a happy and energetic kid but he told the court his brother’s behaviour changed several years after the family arrived in Canada.
“I started to notice his behaviour in 2015,” Pajack testified. “I started to notice that he used curse words.”
Pajack told the court Okoth cursed when he was angry or when there was a disagreement.
He testified his brother told him he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was prescribed medication for the illness. Pajack described for the court when asked by defence lawyer Mitch Merriott how his brother’s mood could swing from being relaxed to either angry or sad. He also told the court Okoth could go from being sad to angry.
“When he’s off his meds he becomes more aggressive, swears a lot,” Pajack testified.
During cross-examination Pajack told the court Okoth was never physically aggressive towards family members when he got angry.
Defence lawyers disclosed in court they plan to call expert witnesses starting on Monday. Dr. Brian Chaze, a psychiatrist who treated Okoth before the homicide, and Dr. Jeffrey Waldman, who conducted an assessment of the accused’s mental health status, are expected to testify.
The allegations against Okoth have not been proven in court and he’s presumed innocent.
The trial continues.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.