Sandeson's handgun used to shoot someone at close range, RCMP expert testifies

An RCMP blood-spatter expert testified in a Halifax courtroom Thursday that a handgun belonging to accused killer William Sandeson had been used to shoot someone at very close range.

Sandeson is on trial before a judge and jury in Nova Scotia Supreme Court for first-degree murder in the August 2015 death of fellow Dalhousie University student Taylor Samson.

RCMP Sgt. Adrian Butler told the court that investigators gave him photographs of a crime scene in the kitchen of Sandeson's apartment in south-end Halifax.

Those photographs included images of the 9-mm Smith & Wesson handgun police recovered from a safe in Sandeson's bedroom.

Butler said he was able to enlarge the images to get a good look at the gun. He said he was able to count 44 minute droplets of blood — many along the slide at the top of the gun.

He said it appeared to him that the blood was "back splatter," meaning a fine mist of blood that was blown back toward the gun by the force of the bullet striking a body.

The blood pattern suggests the gun was between two and four feet of its target, most likely near to the two-feet range, he said.

Defence questions officer

Under defence questioning, Butler said he had no idea of the whereabouts of the gun between Aug. 15 when Taylor Samson disappeared and Aug. 19 when the weapon was recovered from the safe.

However, Butler stuck to his conclusions about how the gun had been used.

Earlier in the trial, two witnesses testified to hearing a gunshot and then seeing a man sitting slumped over at Sandeson's kitchen table with blood pooling at his feet.

Younger brother testifies

Adam Sandeson, William Sandeson's younger brother, also testified Thursday. He recalled that in August 2015, he was living in an apartment with five other men near his older brother's apartment in south-end Halifax.

Adam Sandeson testified that on the morning of Aug. 17, 2015, he woke up to a series of text messages from his brother that said he was bringing over a load of laundry. Adam Sandeson said this was not unusual. He also said he and his roommates generally left their apartment doors unlocked.

The jury was told that Adam Sandeson left for work that morning without seeing his older brother. However, he said when the two men spoke earlier that day, his brother told him there was something in the basement and the area might smell funny.

Brother discovers backpack full of marijuana

Adam Sandeson and a couple of his roommates went to investigate. He said they found an Adidas backpack. On closer inspection, he said they discovered the bag was full of marijuana.

When Adam Sandeson spoke to his brother about his find, he said his brother told him the marijuana wasn't his, and that there was more. Adam Sandeson said he and a couple more of his roommates returned to the basement to investigate further.

Adam Sandeson said they discovered a small appliance box and a grocery bag along with the backpack they'd examined earlier.

Last witness of the week

When William Sandeson was charged with first-degree murder two days later, Adam Sandeson said he and his roommates decided at that point to contact a lawyer to approach police on their behalf.

The prosecution alleges Samson was murdered during a drug deal. His body has never been found.

As Adam Sandeson testified, his older brother sat at the defence table with his head down, taking notes. The defence had no questions for Sandeson, who was the last witness of the week.

The CBC's Blair Rhodes live blogged from the trial.