Police worried missing student was in danger when Sandeson's apartment searched

Three days after Taylor Samson disappeared, police broke down the door of William Sandeson's south-end Halifax apartment to search for the missing man who they believed might be in danger, a first-degree murder trial heard Monday.

They didn't find Samson there. But they did find an empty gun box, a safe and, inside an otherwise grimy bathroom, a spotless bathtub, a jury in Halifax was told.

Several police officers are testifying at Sandeson's trial, which is now in its fourth week in Nova Scotia Supreme Court. Sandeson is charged with first-degree murder in Samson's death. The Dalhousie University student disappeared on Aug. 15, 2015, and his body has never been found.

Sandeson's arrest 

Det. Const. Jason Shannon was the Halifax Regional Police officer who kicked open the door of Sandeson's Henry Street apartment the evening of Aug. 18.

Shannon told the court that on his way to Sandeson's apartment, he noticed a surveillance camera in the hall, which he thought was unusual.

After entering the apartment, he searched a bedroom and bathroom for Samson, but didn't find anything significant. In the second bedroom, Shannon found a safe, a digital video recorder and an empty Smith & Wesson gun box.

Shannon, who testified he was not wearing gloves during the search, said he disconnected the DVR to prevent it from being erased remotely. He also lifted some ceiling tiles in the hallway to determine where camera's wiring went.

Shannon was then sent to Truro, N.S., to search for a vehicle, but on the way, he was diverted to Lehman Drive in Dartmouth, where Sandeson had been found and placed under arrest.

New shower curtain, bath mat seized

Sandeson was carrying a black Dalhousie track and field backpack, which Shannon seized as evidence. Inside was a bath mat, a shower curtain and a receipt showing they had been purchased that day. The bag also contained black gloves, toiletries and his girlfriend's Visa card.

Shannon and other officers testified they had noticed the shower curtain was missing in Sandeson's bathroom.

Shannon testified he returned to the apartment the next morning to seize the DVR and three iPhones from Sandeson's bedroom.

Bathroom grimy but tub spotless

Const. Alicia Joseph of the Halifax Regional Police was on patrol in downtown Halifax when she was sent to help with the search of Sandeson's apartment. Joseph was told police were looking for Samson because he was believed to be in danger.

She started her search in the kitchen, then searched a messy bedroom, a hall closet and the bathroom. Joseph testified the bathroom was grimy but the tub was spotless, and the shower curtain was missing.

While officers waited for a search warrant to be issued, Joseph waited in the kitchen, except for one point when she went into one of the bedrooms to check on some kittens. Officers noticed cats climbing in and out of an open window in one of the bedrooms.

Text messages photographed

A third officer, Det. Const. Marshall Hewitt, told the court he photographed text messages between Sandeson and Samson that were found on Sandeson's phone.

"I'm out back of the building now. Is that your bike parked by the door?" reads one message from Samson's phone.

Sandeson responds, "I'm walking out now." Then, later he texts: "This isn't cool man, you said you'd be right back. Want that stuff. Don't know what you're planning."

Once the police witnesses were finished, a security expert from the mobility company Telus took the stand. Don Capito said both Samson and Sandeson had Telus phones. He told the court that data recovered from Sandeson's phone showed it was in use near Truro in the days after Samson disappeared.

No activity on victim's phone, security expert says

Capito also said there was no activity on Samson's phone after 10:30 on the Saturday night when he was last seen alive.

The final witness of the day was a Dalhousie University student who was a roommate of Sandeson's younger brother Adam. Matthew Donovan testified that Adam Sandeson showed him a black backpack. Adam Sandeson said his brother had dropped it off at their apartment, Donovan said.

Donovan said he looked inside and found it packed with marijuana.

Donovan testified that after learning William Sandeson had been charged with first-degree murder, he and his roommates decided to contact a lawyer to arrange to hand the marijuana over to police.

The CBC's Blair Rhodes live blogged from Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax.