Crown contends teen murdered father over Ferrari

A Vancouver teen accused of murdering his father over the purchase of a Ferrari was motivated by greed, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

In his final submissions to a B.C. Supreme Court jury in Vancouver, Crown counsel Geordie Proulx said Alexander Shevalev wanted to have the luxury vehicle returned to him before the slaying of his dad, 80-year-old Vladimir Shevalev.

The Crown’s theory is the accused, who was 19 at the time of the March 2015 slaying and is now 22, had stolen or misappropriated more than $100,000 and used the money to buy a used Ferrari.

When his father discovered the money was missing and the vehicle had been purchased, he demanded the vehicle be taken back to the dealership, the accused’s trial heard. The vehicle was brought back to the father’s apartment.

The jury has heard two versions of what happened when the teen was summoned to his father’s luxury highrise apartment in Vancouver’s Coal Harbour.

The Crown says after an argument over the vehicle, the teen choked his father from behind and then placed his body on his bed with the assistance of Nawid Sami, a friend of the accused who testified he witnessed the assault.

“In my submission the motive in this case was pure avarice,” Proulx told the jury. “He wanted that car. He acted rashly but with intent.”

The accused testified in his own defence and claimed that during the argument his father became angry and spat at him and hit him in the groin.

Proulx argued that the accused, who had lied to police and others, was being untruthful in his account and lacked credibility. He said the version of events outlined by Sami was to be preferred over the accused’s account.

Proulx urged the jury to reject the claims of Shevalev, who has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, that he was acting in self-defence at the time of the slaying.

The prosecutor noted the accused was aware of the health problems of his father.

Glen Orris, Shevalev’s lawyer, argued the physical abuse the accused suffered at the hands of his father while he was growing up was a factor in the dispute that led to the dad’s death.

The defence lawyer also pointed to the breakup of the marriage of the accused’s mother and father, and that the son was caught in the middle of that breakdown.

He argued his client acted in self-defence during the confrontation in the luxury suite.

Orris told the jury there was no evidence Shevalev had any intention to commit murder.

The teen had to hold his father down to prevent him from getting up and attacking him again, the defence lawyer said.

“Alex is the one who has been injured. He’s been assaulted and he wants to stop it. It’s what we call self-defence.”

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Wedge told the jury she would begin her final instructions Thursday morning. The jury is expected to begin deliberations later Thursday.