Tim Rees still maintains his innocence after 19 years in prison for murder

Murderer Timothy Rees categorically denied Tuesday that he killed little Darla Thurott in his testimony before the Ontario Court of Appeal, which this week is hearing new evidence uncovered by his defense in preparation for his call scheduled for December. He was sentenced in 1990 to life in prison for the unpremeditated murder of Darla Thurott a year earlier in Toronto.

Rees had exhausted all his legal remedies before Canada’s Attorney General Arif Virani sent the case back to the Ontario Court of Appeal over a possible error made during the 1990 trial.

His lawyer, James Lockyer, contends that police failed to disclose the existence of an incriminating recorded interview with the owner of the house where the Thurotts and their young daughter lived.

It turns out the homeowner, who died today, lived in the room across the street from the victim’s bedroom and may have strangled the 10-year-old child, according to the defense.

The trial showed that Rees had spent the day before the murder in the company of Bill and Darleen Thurott and had slept at their house the night of March 16, 1989.

The Crown today recalls that, 34 years ago, he was an angry, violent man, an alcoholic and a drug addict.

Parallel with his little sister

Tim Rees explains to the Ontario Court of Appeal that he did not strangle Darla that night. She was very close to me, it’s true, I had fun riding with herhe said.

Prosecutor Karen Papadopoulos, drawing on trial transcripts, reminded her that the child had suggested to her that she wanted to marry him when she was older.

Yes, it was weird, but she wasn’t very happy, because her parents were drug addictshe continues.

Rees confirms that Darla once had to be hospitalized after swallowing an LSD blotter she found on the living room coffee table.

Bill and Darleen had drugs in plain sighthe remembers, swearing however that he only smoked cannabis in front of the child, never crack unlike his parents.

Me Papadopoulos draws a parallel between Darla’s murder and the death of Barbara, Rees’ little sister, who died of leukemia at the age of eight.

The prosecutor suggests that Tim Rees strangled Darla because she reminded him too much of his sister.

Darla had become my sister in a way, I loved her, but I would never hurt herhe adds.

Me Papadopoulos reminds him, however, that his ADN was found on the child’s blouse. We used to play wrestling together, so it’s clear that my ADN was constantly on herhe explains.

Rees denies having murdered her to relieve her of her unhappy childhood in the same way that his mother had explained to him, as a teenager, that Barbara would no longer suffer when she died and that she would go to heaven.

Alcohol and drug abuse

Tim Rees claims that Bill Thurott had invited him to his house for drinks with friends that Thursday and that he had offered to sleep at his house so that he would be close to the factory where the murderer worked the next day.

He specifies that Darleen’s friends, the basement tenant and the owner of the house were there and that they drank and used drugs during the evening, but that he went to bed first. ‘floor.

beers, and I was high… I don’t remember what time it was and I don’t know if Darla was already in her room”,”text”:”I was drunk, I had 12 beers, and I was high…I don’t remember what time it was and I don’t know if Darla was in her room yet”}}”>I was drunk, I had 12 beers, and I was high… I don’t remember what time it was and I don’t know if Darla was in her room yethe replied to the prosecutor.

Tim Rees says he doesn’t remember playing with the child that night or checking on her in her room.

Mr. Papadopoulos accuses him of getting up around 6:15 a.m. the next day after a difficult night, that he was anxious and that he ran away, because he had just killed the child.

The sixty-year-old replies that it’s not true, that he left for work, but that he had asked Darleen to set her alarm for 7 a.m.

He adds that he went downstairs, asked Darleen to give him back the $100 he had given her the day before so that she could buy him drugs, which he took a beer in the fridge to fight the hangover and he left.

The Crown also accuses him of having attempted to take his own life on April 11, 1989, because he was consumed by remorse. No, I was depressedhe retorts.

Arrest and confession

Tim Rees was finally arrested on May 21, 1989 for an armed attack against his brother the day before.

The police will make a connection with a knife attack on a taxi driver in November 1988 and the murder of little Darla.

Timothy Rees had pleaded guilty to the two assaults in question at the police station, but he admits that he also admitted to Darla’s murder to investigators at the same time.

I actually signed the confession, but it was a liehe repeats.

He claims he wanted the detectives to leave him alone and was ready to sign any statement when they returned with a typewriter to the interrogation room.

You want me to tell you that I killed her, so, yes, I killed herhe remembers telling them, specifying that he had not read the document that the police had filled out before making him sign it.

The hearings continue Wednesday with testimony from other defense witnesses.