Accused murderer threatened his wife, trial told

A Richmond woman testified Thursday that her husband threatened to kill her in the days before a house fire in which two people died.

Liane Leznoff was testifying at the trial of her husband, Surjit Dosanjh, who has pleaded not guilty to the April 2015 second-degree murders of her mother, Elaine Leznoff, 66, and a teen who cannot be identified due to a publication ban.

She told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Peter Voith that during their relationship, she had become increasingly concerned about the conduct of Dosanjh, who she said was using drugs including heroin, cocaine and crystal meth and was constantly fighting with her.

“When he was on crystal meth, he became very paranoid,” Leznoff told the judge. “He was a bit all over the place.”

On one occasion, when the mother of three was pregnant with her youngest child, she said Dosanjh used a piece of wood to smash the window of her vehicle.

Another time, the accused put his hands around her neck, she said.

Near the end of March 2015, she decided she’d had enough and told Dosanjh that she wanted to end the relationship.

“I told him I wasn’t in love with him anymore and I wanted to separate from him,” she said.

Asked by Crown counsel Daniel Porte about Dosanjh’s reaction, she said that the accused refused to accept that their relationship was over.

Dosanajh began following her around and constantly phoning her, demanding to know why she wanted to leave him, she said.

On one occasion, Dosanjh came to her home in the middle of the night and told her, ‘You’re mine, you’re mine, you’ll always be mine,’ ” she said.

Asked by Porte whether Dosanjh said anything that worried her or concerned her, she said the accused began to threaten her.

“He told me if he found out I had a boyfriend, he would kill me, kill the guy and kill the guy’s whole family.”

The threats came in April 2015, within a week of the fatal fire at the family duplex on Cornerbrook Crescent in Richmond, said Leznoff.

Dosanjh was taken to the hospital by police after he called her one day, told her that he couldn’t punish her but that he was going to kill himself, she said.

The day before the fire, she returned home after being told that someone had smashed in the window of her mother’s car, she said.

Leznoff said she spoke to police about the damaged car and confronted Dosanjh, who threatened her again.

When she tried to start the car, black smoke came out of the back of the vehicle, she said.

Leznoff said she felt “pretty scared” after that incident.

With the help of a police officer, she left the family home and went to a safe house, she said.

Court has heard that after Leznoff went to the safe house, Dosanjh came to the duplex briefly, after which the fire erupted. Firefighters attempted to resuscitate Leznoff’s mother, Elaine Leznoff, and the teen but were unsuccessful.

Shortly after the lunch break, as she was testifying about the fatal fire and the immediate aftermath, Leznoff asked for the proceedings to be halted.

During the adjournment, the accused, who is in custody, turned around in the prisoner’s dock and gave the middle finger to a newspaper reporter sitting in the public gallery.

When the proceedings resumed, Porte told the judge that Leznoff, who felt dizzy and faint, was concerned about the size of the courtroom, the number of people in the courtroom and the lighting and wanted to testify from outside the courtroom with the help of a support worker.

The Crown prosecutor later said that part of the reason Leznoff wanted to testify outside the courtroom was because of the presence of Dosanjh.

Emmet Duncan, Dosanjh’s lawyer, opposed the move, saying there were other options including using a smaller courtroom.

The judge adjourned the case for the day, adding that legal arguments on the issue would be addressed on Friday morning.