'She wanted peace and safety': jurors hear closing arguments in Calgary murder trial

The lawyer for one of two people accused of killing a man whose body was dumped in a southwest Calgary alley told jurors in her closing statement to "resist the urge to make assumptions."

Rebecca Snukal represents Laura Lavorato who is charged with manslaughter in the July 2022 death of her then-boyfriend Shawn McCormack, 34.

Devon Shedrick, Laborato's friend, faces a first-degree murder charge and is represented by defence lawyer Kim Ross. 

Closing arguments were made in the case Friday. 

• Victim of fatal shooting found in alley, wrapped in blanket, jurors hear on murder trial's first day

It is the Crown's theory that Lavorato helped Shedrick find McCormack and encouraged him to assault the victim. 

McCormack was fatally shot in Lavorato's living room, according to a witness who testified she saw his body on the floor. He was then dumped in an alley in Upper Mount Royal. 

Motive was jailhouse attack, says prosecutor

A month before McCormack's death, he and Shedrick were both in custody at the Calgary Remand Centre. Shedrick "was badly beaten" by McCormack, said prosecutor Peter Mackenzie in his opening address to jurors. 

The motive for the murder, said Mackenzie, was the jailhouse attack and the domestic violence suffered by Lavorato.

But Snukal argued that attacking McCormack would "escalate the situation and make things worse."

"Ask yourselves this," she told jurors, "how would sending Devon Shedrick to seriously hurt Mr. McCormack be a way to address his treatment of her … wouldn't it have the opposite effect?"

A text message presented as evidence by the Crown from Lavorato to Shedrick about McCormack, saying "you should mess him the f–k up," was sent more than a week before the victim was killed, Snukal pointed out. 

'Trapped in the chaos'

On July 2, the day McCormack was believed to be fatally shot, Snukal told jurors that there is no evidence to show the two accused spoke.

Lavorato was "a woman trapped in the chaos of domestic violence," said Snukal.

"[She] did not want Shawn McCormack dead, she did not want him badly hurt, she wanted peace and safety; a basic human right," said Snukal.

"What Ms. Lavorato wanted was not serious violence, but a way out of a terrible situation."

Cellmate confession

Shedrick's lawyer Kim Ross told jurors the trial is "a total circumstantial case," and said there's no evidence that the Remand Centre fight was motive for murder. 

"You can't convict Mr. Shedrick because you think he did it," said Ross. 

In the Crown's closing arguments, Mackenzie pointed out that Shedrick confessed to the killing to a cellmate while being held in custody. 

He said he'd shot the victim once in the chest with a .22-calibre while he lay on Lavorato's sofa.

All of the information Shedrick disclosed to the cellmate was corroborated by the evidence.

Jurors will be instructed on how to apply the law to their deliberations on Monday, before being sequestered until a verdict is reached.