Advisory: This story includes graphic testimony from a murder trial.
Blood covered nearly the entire kitchen floor of an Oak Bay apartment, a B.C. Supreme Court jury saw and heard Wednesday during the trial of Andrew Berry, who is charged with killing his two daughters.
The B.C. Supreme Court jury in Vancouver heard from forensic investigator RCMP Sgt. Kimberly Tremblay, an expert in blood pattern analysis, who displayed photographs taken at the Oak Bay apartment crime scene and offered explanations, including for the blood-smeared kitchen floor.
“Someone, or something, heavily contaminated with blood has come into contact with the kitchen floor while moving around,” Tremblay said.
Berry, 45, is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the deaths of his daughters, six-year-old Chloe and four-year-old Aubrey. He has pleaded not guilty.
Police were called to the Beach Drive apartment on Christmas Day 2017. Chloe and Aubrey were discovered dead in bedrooms and Berry was found injured in the bathroom. The Crown theory is that Berry killed the children and then inflicted wounds on himself.
Tremblay testified that as a specialized forensic crime scene investigator she is trained to interpret the shapes, locations, size and frequency of blood stains to create an explanation for their origin. For example, shapes can indicate whether blood dripped and pooled or struck a surface at velocity and at an angle.
During Wednesday’s testimony Tremblay was asked to draw few conclusions. Instead, the jury was given descriptions of the various stains she found and recorded.
The jury heard of multiple blood stains in the living room laid down by sock-covered feet contaminated with blood and a drip trail from the kitchen.
Blood was also found on numerous items all over the apartment.
“Someone, or something, contaminated with blood has come into contact with those things,” said Tremblay.
Her testimony did not take her to the two bedrooms. The trial continues today.
