Closing arguments: Lawyers offer 2 versions of Joel Clow's killing of Traci Lynch
WARNING This story contains graphic descriptions of violence
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- Joel Clow later pleaded guilty to manslaughter after a previous murder conviction was overturned.
The Crown and defence lawyers have two versions of the events leading up to the night that Joel Clow killed Traci Lynch and it's now up to the judge to decide, based on the evidence, which version to believe.
The lawyers recently submitted their closing arguments in writing to Justice Nancy Key after a two-week trial in May. The judge will deliver her decision on July 21 as to whether Clow is guilty of first degree murder in the death of Lynch.
The decision comes two years after Lynch's death on July 24, 2015 in Pleasant Grove, P.E.I. She died from a blunt force injury to her head and strangulation.
Clow has admitted responsibility for her death, although he told investigators he does not remember killing her due to high levels of intoxication from drugs and alcohol.
The question for the judge: Did he intend to kill her? In forming her decision Key will consider all the evidence presented during Clow's trial, including the days leading up to and following Lynch's death.
The Crown's case
In her written submissions Crown prosecutor Cindy Wedge outlines her theory of what happened — that Clow, acting out of jealousy, got into an argument with Lynch that night, followed her across the road to a neighbour's home and assaulted her violently on the veranda. Wedge contends that Lynch died while Clow was forcibly confining her.
"It was a highly dysfunctional relationship marked with violence and addiction," wrote Wedge.
"Regardless of his level of intoxication, the Crown submits he held a deeply rooted anger and suspicion toward her," she wrote, and "was predisposed toward causing her harm."
Wedge pointed to witnesses who testified Lynch was afraid of Clow, who told them he'd tried to run her down with his vehicle, had bleached her clothes, flooded her house, smashed her vehicle's windows, and hidden in the crawl space of her home to spy on her.
'A performance and not genuine'
The toxicologist called by the Crown told the court Clow's blood-alcohol would have been within the legal limit to drive, and that the drugs in his system indicated moderate recent use or a large dose taken previously, but that Clow would still have possessed "mental awareness."
A video taken by police when officers arrested Clow on July 24 shows him rolling around on the ground, moaning. The Crown called this, "a performance and not genuine."
Wedge pointed to Clow's ability in the hours before Lynch's death — to buy items at a convenience store, use his PIN number with his bank card, drive his truck, back it up into a tight spot, and send text messages. She said these are all things that show, "cognitive function, emotional control and motor control."
In her closing written argument Wedge suggests Clow repeatedly assaulted Lynch at the home across the road from his home.
Wedge said Clow pulled Lynch's feet out from under her, hit her in the back of the head with a deck table, kicked her while she lay prone on the grass, ripped her T-shirt off, tied it into three knots to form a rope, and looped it around Lynch's neck to drag her across the road to his property.
Lynch's body was found in a wheelbarrow, covered by a tarp, plastic totes and a blanket. Court heard Lynch's belongings were found in a waste bin and in bags hidden on Clow's property. Wedge said those actions, "took planning, focus and an expectation of consequences."
Case for the defence
Clow's lawyers called witnesses during the trial who testified Clow was "grossly intoxicated" on a mix of alcohol, speed, marijuana and cocaine at the time of Lynch's death. A toxicologist called by the defence concluded Clow would have been in a psychotic state without the capacity to understand the consequences of his actions.
In their written submissions, Clow's lawyers, Joel Pink and Nathan Sutherland, said those results show Clow was unable to form the "specific intent" to commit murder.
The defence team also pointed to testimony from witnesses who said Clow was using illicit drugs heavily for months.
Although several witnesses testified Lynch told them she was afraid of Clow and that he had threatened her, none of his actions resulted in any physical harm to Lynch, said the defence, and Clow may have been high at the time of those incidents. The evidence, they write, "suggests he acted aggressively or strangely when he was high."
As for Clow's behaviour in the hours leading up to Lynch's death, the defence wrote, "The ability to text and drive a car may involve only basic cognitive, emotional and/or motor function, which do not require significant foresight … which might be performed even in a state of advanced intoxication."
'Was coming down ... or was in a state of withdrawal'
The arresting officer testified Clow was found curled up under a blanket on his bed, but was cooperative with police and walked outside. However, the officer said once outside, he had to place Clow on the grass for his own safety due to his shaking and moaning.
The video of the arrest shows Clow "was coming down from an earlier drug induced state of intoxication, and/or was in a state of withdrawal," according to the defence.
Further, his behaviour after his arrest, including sleeping at the hospital and lying on the floor of the interview room during parts of his two-hour interview with police "suggests he may have been starting to crash or entering a state of withdrawal after an earlier drug induced high," the defence submitted.
The defence also pointed out that during that interview, Clow told police he'd been high on cocaine, speed and alcohol for months, often going several days at a time without sleep. Clow told the officer he remembered arguing with Lynch and struggling with her, but not choking or hitting her. Clow also told police numerous times that he didn't intend to kill Lynch.
According to the defence's theory of Lynch's death, she may have fallen and hit her head on the veranda of the house across from Clow's home during their argument causing her serious head wound. While Clow may have intended to hurt her during their fight he did not know that her fall would lead to her death, wrote the defence.
Decision day
Justice Key will deliver her decision at 1:30 pm on July 21.
The penalty for first degree murder is life in prison with no possibility of parole for at least 25 years.
If Key doesn't find Clow guilty of first degree murder, she could find him guilty of a lesser offence including second degree murder or manslaughter.
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