A second court proceeding has begun in the 2007 shooting death of Toronto environmental philanthropist Glen Davis.
About two weeks ago, Marshall Ross, Davis's 41-year-old godson, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the 66-year-old millionaire's death.
Ross received the automatic sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years.
On Wednesday, the Crown began its opening arguments in the first-degree murder trial of Dmitri Kossyrine and Ivgeny Vorobiov, both 33.
Both men have pleaded not guilty.
The jury heard that Davis died in an underground parking garage after being shot with a 9mm handgun in the heart and in the back, the second bullet passing through his spleen.
Assistant Crown attorney Hank Goody told jurors that Davis's death stemmed from Ross's indebtedness to the victim.
Davis had loaned Ross about $2.5 million to start a business. The business failed, and the interest charges were building up.
Ross's sentencing hearing learned that he resented Davis for giving away the family fortune inherited from Morgan Davis, a Toronto businessman who died in 1979.
However, the two men were close. They socialized, going on skiing and camping trips together. Davis referred to Ross as his nephew.
But behind the seemingly good relations, Ross had plotted to have Davis killed to solve his financial problems, his sentencing hearing learned.
Davis had been the object of a 2005 attack with a baseball bat before he was finally murdered on May 18, 2007. Ross was not charged in that incident, but has since acknowledged being behind the attack.
The trial of Kossyrine and Vorobiov is expected to last several weeks, with Goody's opening statement to continue Wednesday afternoon.
Ross has reportedly agreed to testify against both of the accused.
With a report from CTV Toronto's John Musselman
