In Toronto, at the trial of Alpha Henry, the best friend of a woman murdered in 2022 with her husband claims that she had not given him any news two days before the discovery of their bodies in their Rexdale home. The individual is accused of killing his parents and attacking his brother, Daniel.
The bodies of Colin and Veronica Henry were discovered stabbed and doused in gasoline in the bathtub of their apartment when police arrived in the early hours of September 21, 2022.
Janet Bernard's testimony confirms what the Crown has maintained since the start of the trial: the murder was committed two days before the discovery of the couple's bodies.
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Colin Henry, 68, and Veronica Henry, 67, lived with their son, Daniel, an Air Canada flight attendant at the time, before they were brutally murdered in 2022.
Photo : GoFundMe
The old lady claims she knew Veronica for 29 or 30 years
and that they met at church where they were participating in a children's program of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
We saw each other every weekend for services
she says, adding that the pandemic has forced them to attend sermons online and communicate by phone much more often.
We spoke every day, sometimes even twice a day on the phone
she continues, specifying that they also took walks in the park with other retirees.
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Alpha Henry is accused of the unpremeditated murder of his parents Colin and Veronica Henry and the attempted murder of his brother Daniel.
Photo : - / Pam Davies
We last spoke on September 18th around 9 p.m.
she recalls, mentioning that Veronica Henry did not call her back as planned on September 19, 2022.
His absence wasn't surprising, but not calling back was odd, since it wasn't like him.
she emphasizes.
She states that Veronica Henry was also absent the next day for their weekly walk in the park.
I called her several times, but still no answer.
she declares.
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Prosecutor Jamie Buckland Foster presents to the court unanswered phone calls between Janet Bernard and Veronica Henry on September 19 and 20, 2022.
Photo : - / Pam Davies
She adds that they all wondered where she could be. We went to church, but neither Veronica nor Colin was there
she mentions.
She explains that she thought her friend must have rushed back to Jamaica. A hypothesis that did not hold water according to her, because Veronica would have warned her of such an absence.
His two text messages will also go unanswered. I then became really worried, something abnormal had happened.
she said.
Mental health of the accused
The Crown suggests, by showing Ms. Bernard's missed calls on screen, that Veronica and Colin Henry were already dead on the afternoon of September 19, 2022 and that they were not murdered on September 21 as the claims the accused.
Ms. Bernard also maintains that she knew Veronica and Colin's children well and that she prayed in particular for Alpha, because her mother was worried about her mental health.
I prayed for hers as she prayed for mine
she concludes.
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Police Detective Michael McGinn answered questions from prosecutor Michael Wilson over three days about the alleged mental health problems of the accused, Alpha Henry.
Photo : - / Pam Davies
Alpha Henry's defense, however, claims that it was his client's brother Daniel who killed their parents and who attacked him with a knife the same night before fleeing.
The suspect told police that he had been injured in the stabbing of his younger brother, Daniel.
Daniel Henry was found at a gas station and taken to the station before being released the next day.
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Alpha Henry, who did not live with his parents, was arrested in his hospital bed after being discovered with a bloody hand in his parents' home on the night of September 21, 2022.
Photo : - / Pam Davies
One of the police officers who relieved their colleagues at the hospital on the morning of September 21, 2022 claims that the accused received 25 stitches in his hand, had X-rays taken and was given antibiotics.
A nurse inserted a catheter into him, but I don't know what he was given.
admits agent Prekshat Saini who specifies that a doctor has given leave to the individual.
According to Officer Saini, the suspect asked him in his hospital bed who the three people he was being charged with were.
I told him I didn't know anything about it and it was just allegations.
he continues on the witness stand.
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Officer Prekshat Saini told the prosecutor that the suspect clearly understood their conversation when they left the hospital for the police station on the morning of September 21, 2022. The Crown also showed the video of his arrest on his hospital bed.
Photo : - / Pam Davies
The police officer further clarified that he saw nothing abnormal in the suspect's behavior. We then took him to the police station
he declares.
He mentions that his colleague responsible for triage asked him when he arrived at the station if the accused had mental health problems or suicidal thoughts.
In the video that the Crown shows in court, we hear Alpha Henry respond to the police officer in the negative.
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Officer Prekshat Saini assures that he and his colleagues before him read the accused his rights before arresting him, telling him the three charges he faces and taking him to the station.
Photo : - / Pam Davies
Video from the triage at the station shows the suspect was given an orange prison outfit, because he was still in a hospital gown.
Officer Saini adds that Alpha Henry had not drunk alcohol and was never threatening. We removed his handcuffs because of his hand bandage
he remembers.
The next prosecution witness called to the stand, Detective Dakota Stone, described the video of the police arriving at the victims' apartment on the night of September 21, 2022.
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Arrival of police and paramedics at 27, avenue Bergamot, where two adults were stabbed to death and where an individual aged 28 at the time was arrested on the night of September 21, 2022
Photo : - / Arlyn Mcadorey
In the comings and goings of firefighters, paramedics and police officers, we hear someone say that the apartment smells of gasoline and that they need to ventilate the rooms by opening the windows.
An officer's uniform camera then films the victims' bodies in the bath, while a paramedic confirms that the couple had been stabbed to death.
A police officer told Alpha Henry to lie down on the floor before asking a colleague to take him out into the hallway. In the chaos of the police operation, we perceive snatches of conversation between the police and the suspect.
Alpha Henry is heard saying that he was praying with his parents when his brother attacked them with a knife before fleeing.
