Amber Kirwan trial hears from Chris Falconer's father

The father of the man accused of killing 19-year-old Amber Kirwan took to the stand as the defence's only witness in court on Thursday.

Christopher Alexander Falconer, 31, is charged with first-degree murder in the New Glasgow teen's death in the fall of 2011. He has pleaded not guilty.

Scott Falconer told the court he was upset when his son called him from jail on Nov. 16, 2011, saying he wanted to plead guilty. Falconer said he told his son not to plead to something he didn't do.

The senior Falconer told the court his son was worried about the stress he caused his family — that's why he pondered pleading guilty.

Mike Taylor, the defence attorney, said he wanted his client's father to take the stand in order to clear up a few things.

"I wanted him to give some context to the conversation his son had with him while he was at the correctional facility and made a comment about considering pleading guilty," said Taylor.

Justice Nick Scaravelli hesitated to allow Falconer's father on the stand because Scott Falconer had been in the courtroom for almost all of the previous testimony. The other witnesses, on the other hand, were not present in the courtroom before they took the stand.

Scaravelli agreed to breach his own order on the condition that Scott Falconer only be asked about that particular recording from jail.

"I think it was important for the jury to hear how he was feeling, how he was behaving that day — to get a sense of his mood and attitude," said Taylor.

During the cross-examination, Crown prosecutor Bill Gorman said at no point during the phone call did Chris Falconer ever say he didn't kill Kirwan.

The Crown finished presenting its evidence and testimony on Tuesday.

"We're pleased with the way our evidence was presented, with the way our witnesses delivered our evidence," he said.

"We believe that we have given the jury all the tools that they will need and we'll just remind them in closing arguments, what are the things that they should really focus on."

Closing statements are expected to happen Friday.