Former Halifax medical student denies he killed fellow student for financial gain
CTV
A former medical student who claims he fatally shot a fellow student in self-defence during a drug deal in Halifax denied Tuesday he planned to kill the man and steal the marijuana he was carrying.
A former medical student who claims he fatally shot a fellow student in self-defence during a drug deal in Halifax denied Tuesday he planned to kill the man and steal the marijuana he was carrying.
William Sandeson, who was also a small-time drug dealer, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the Aug. 15, 2015, death of Dalhousie University physics student Taylor Samson, whose body has yet to be found.
Under cross-examination by Crown prosecutor Carla Ball, Sandeson told the Nova Scotia Supreme Court jury he brought a handgun to the drug deal only to intimidate Samson, not to kill him.
"You planned to use that gun that night to kill," Ball told him. Sandeson said that wasn't true. "No. I planned to use that gun to intimidate."
On Monday, Sandeson testified that soon after he showed Samson the gun, the victim lunged at him and the resulting struggle ended when Sandeson shot him, saying he was certain Samson would have killed him otherwise.
On Tuesday, Ball suggested Sandeson was motivated to kill because he was mired in debt and was about to spend a small fortune on tuition and books as he was days away from beginning medical school at Dalhousie.
She told the court that the cost of Sandeson's medical degree over four years was estimated at $112,000. And she reminded the jury that the accused had $78,000 outstanding on a line of credit.
