'She was afraid to go home': Court hears closing arguments in Edmonton murder trial
CBC
The Crown and defence finished their closing arguments on Friday in the murder trial of Gamdur Brar, who was arrested following a shoot-out in Sherwood Park along Baseline Road.
The funeral home owner is charged with the first-degree murder of his wife's 19-year-old nephew Harmanjot Bhattal and the attempted murder of his wife, Satvir Brar.
Defence lawyer Brian Beresh pointed to "numerous minor moving to major inconsistencies" in the witness statements, including different descriptions of the clothing the shooter was wearing.
Meanwhile, the Crown cited videos of the vehicles they say confirm their version of events and a statement Satvir gave to police while recovering in the hospital after she'd been shot.
Satvir said she fled their family home in Strathcona County on the night of May 6th, 2021, with her nephew after a fight with her husband.
Early the following morning, her husband's BMW started following them while they were driving nearby, Satvir told the RCMP.
"She was afraid to go home," said prosecutor Photini Papadatou.
"Instead, he went looking for her, and he found her."
The two vehicles collided, and a man she believed was her husband shot at the vehicle she was driving in. She ran from the scene with her husband chasing after her.
Satvir told police he shot her nephew at close range, and she ran away, eventually climbing into a vehicle with a man who called 911 and drove her to the hospital.
But at trial, Satvir told the court that she didn't know who was driving her family's black BMW or who shot her.
Beresh argued the initial statement was "indicative of a lack of reliability."
He pointed out Satvir was traumatized and on medication when she spoke to the police. The Crown referred to text messages they say Satvir sent to relatives in India, indicating before the crime took place, she felt she was mistreated by her husband.
In her closing arguments, Papadatou told the court that bullets extracted from the body of the deceased matched bullets found in the family's home and were compatible with a missing revolver registered to Gamdur Brar.
This First Person column is the experience of Shannon Flaman, who lives in Red Deer, Alta. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
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