The man accused of second-degree murder in the death of a much-loved Vancouver man has denied in court that he took steps to hide blood stains and smears throughout the victim’s residence.
Kitsilano resident Brent Steven White is charged in the death of Justis Daniel, 77. The case is being heard in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver with Justice Miriam Maisonville presiding.
Under questioning from Crown prosecutor Colleen Smith Jan. 28, White said he had no idea how several rugs and jackets wound up covering bloodied areas of Daniel’s Tatlow Park residence.
Daniel was the caretaker of Tatlow Park, found slain in his home Dec. 10, 2021, in the city’s west side.
White testified Jan. 20 that he met Daniel in a coffee shop in 2008 or 2009, and that Daniel had later asked him to build a website for him. That request was sealed with a May 26, 2011 contract.
Smith asked White if he remembered covering a smear on a couch as shown in a police photo.
“I don’t recall doing that,” White said. “In my mind, I would have no reason to do that.”
Smith said police found a rug over a kitchen blood stain.
“You put that there, didn’t you?” she asked.
“I have no reason to put a rug there,” he said.
Responded Smith, “I suggest you were trying to cover the blood stain.”
“I have no reason to put a rug there where you see it,” White said.
He said Smith was making assumptions.
She then asked him if he had taken another rug by Daniel’s piano and covered another blood stain.
“No,” White said.
Then, she asked him about a poofy jacket over a blood-spattered canister in the kitchen.
“I don’t recall putting a jacket there,” he said.
Self-defence
White denied killing Daniel when questioned by his lawyer Brent Anderson in court Jan. 21.
“Oh, no. Absolutely not,” White said. “I was forced into a situation to defend myself.”
White testified Jan. 20 that the incident began when Daniel bit his neck, leading to a confrontation in which White had a knife.
“I feared for my life; absolutely shocked and speechless,” White said.
Not criminally responsible
The issue of a finding of not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder has already arisen in the case.
Anderson said White had instructed him not to seek such a finding.
Still, Anderson said, the court is not bound by lawyers’ submissions on that issue and can make such a determination on its own.
Justis Daniel
Daniel was found dead in his home at West Third Avenue and MacDonald Street.
The Texas-born father of one was known as a talented singer and guitar player.
The Vancouver Police Department said White was arrested without incident.
Police said the long-time caretaker was also a well-known Kitsilano community fixture and had no known enemies. At the time of his death, there were no suspects and no known motive.
VPD major crime section commander Insp. Dale Weidman said White and Daniel were casual acquaintances but not friends.
The VPD did not comment on a motive and cause of death.
“This crime shocked the community and caused significant anxiety, in part because we could not immediately explain what happened or guarantee there was no ongoing public safety risk,” Weidman said March 28, 2022.
Daniel’s death was Vancouver’s 17th homicide of 2021.
