NEWMARKET, Ont. - The lawyer for a Markham, Ont., man accused of killing his neighbour says his client never intended to kill Alicia Ross and that a witness at his trial is unreliable.
In his closing argument at Daniel Sylvester's second-degree murder trial, defence lawyer David Hobson said police and Crown prosecutors make a "grave mistake'' by relying on evidence from Ross' then-boyfriend.
Hobson told the jury in Newmarket, Ont., that Sean Hine was an "unreliable witness with selfish motivation.''
He said the Crown's theory that Sylvester watched Ross kiss Hine goodbye, turn off a motion sensor light and attack her from behind in her darkened back yard makes no sense.
He said the theory is based largely on Hines' unreliable evidence and doesn't match Sylvester's version of the attack.
According to Sylvester, the attack in August 2005 happened under a tree outside the yard some two hours later.
Hobson says evidence from a police office who found Sylvester's keys under the same tree in the days after her disappearance corroborates that theory.
