Jury deliberations begin Monday in 1st-degree murder trial of man who killed Windsor mom
CBC
WARNING: This story contains graphic details some may find disturbing.
Jury members are expected to start deliberating this week following a nearly seven-week first-degree murder trial at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Windsor.
Closing arguments are set for Monday in Jitesh Bhogal's trial, who admitted during his own testimony that he "accidentally killed" 31-year-old Autumn Taggart in her third-floor apartment building on June 10, 2018. The Crown will summarize its case, connecting the dots between the roughly 30 witnesses who testified during the trial that started on Oct. 12.
In order to establish a charge of murder, the Crown must prove Bhogal had intent the night he killed Taggart.
During Bhogal's testimony, he said he purchased an "eight ball" of cocaine from a male and female drug dealer the night of Taggart's death. They ran off with his cash and most of the cocaine in the area of University Avenue West, right outside of Taggart's apartment.
Bhogal said he wanted to try some of the cocaine to test its quality before buying more, but also said it was his first time doing the drug. He admitted to doing several lines of cocaine before entering the victim's apartment.
"You are an experienced cocaine user," Crown Attorney Ilana Mizel said during cross examination.
"I disagree," Bhogal said.
Mizel suggested only an experienced user would ask to test the quality of the cocaine.
After his drugs were stolen, Bhogal said he was looking for the female drug dealer named Michelle Altiman, who testified during the trial that she put the drugs in her vagina before running off. Bhogal admitted he was likely in Taggart's apartment searching for Altiman.
He testified he doesn't remember how he got in, but said during questioning that "it seems I climbed the balcony to get in there."
Bhogal also said he doesn't remember a lot of what happened that night.
"I didn't know where I was. I remember looking at a face and this face staring back at me … I've never seen somebody look at me in such horror or fear. The next thing I know there's a scream or person is screaming," Bhogal testified.
During his testimony in court Bhogal became emotional, wiping tears from his eyes while his face twitched.