William Sandeson won't testify at murder trial as defence rests its case

William Sandeson will not testify in his first-degree murder trial as the defence rested its case Tuesday following its final witness, an ex-girlfriend who said she thought Sandeson was selling off his drug dealing business the night Taylor Samson disappeared.

Sandeson is accused of killing Samson, a fellow Dalhousie University student, nearly two years ago. The Crown has alleged Samson was murdered in Sandeson's Halifax apartment during a deal involving nine kilograms of marijuana.

Sandeson has pleaded not guilty and has been on trial before a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge and jury in Halifax. The Crown rested its case earlier this week, and the defence subsequently called several witnesses of its own.

Both sides will make their closing arguments on Monday, and the judge will instruct the jury the next day.

Sandeson 'knows the case extremely well'

Eugene Tan, Sandeson's lawyer, said putting his client on the stand was "always an open question" but they ultimately decided against it.

Tan said Sandeson is feeling confident about the trial and is "very invested in his own defence" and has been "holding up very well.

"He knows the case extremely well," Tan told reporters outside the courtroom.

"You've probably seen him looking up things, passing notes to us, making references to specific pages of evidence and giving it to us, so he has maintained his focus on this trial."

The last defence witness, Sonja Gashus, testified Tuesday she and Sandeson had been dating for about eight months before the events of August 2015. The two are no longer together.

Girlfriend didn't approve of drug dealing

She said that on Aug. 15, 2015, Sandeson wanted her out of his Halifax apartment for the evening.​ Gashus said she knew Sandeson sold drugs and she didn't approve.

She said she told him repeatedly to give it up and she became more insistent after he was accepted into Dalhousie's medical school.

Before she left for the evening, Sandeson was going around the apartment removing things with his name on them, like certificates that had been on the walls and something posted on the fridge, she testified.

Gashus said she went to a friend's house to watch a movie and hang out. She kept in touch with Sandeson through text messages. She said she got the all clear to return to the apartment just after midnight, at around 12:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Strong smell of cleaning products

Upon returning, Gashus said she noticed a strong smell of cleaner in the apartment.

She testified that Sandeson told her three people had arrived earlier at the apartment to bid on his drug business. One of them sucker-punched another and he bled, Gashus said Sandeson told her. He said he'd cleaned up the blood.

Sandeson told her one of the men in the fight gave him a box of dope, she testified.

Gashus told court that Sandeson drove her to work the next morning, which wasn't unusual. She also said she didn't find it unusual that he was wearing a toque and sweater in August.

Two days later, while visiting Gashus's grandmother in Dartmouth, police arrested Sandeson and took her in for questioning to describe what she was doing the night Samson disappeared.

The CBC's Blair Rhodes live blogged from court.