Accused killer recounts alibi to jury

The man accused of bludgeoning his lover’s husband to death testified Monday he was nowhere near the crime scene when Allan Lanteigne was killed inside his Toronto home on March 2, 2011.

Testifying in his own defence, Michael Ivezic, 58, gave the jury a detailed account of his whereabouts that day and told the jury he was picking up his son from University of Toronto’s Erindale campus between 5:15 and 5:30 p.m. This is around the time prosecutors say Ivezic, then weighing more than 300 pounds, was lying in wait and attacked the much smaller Lanteigne. While Ivezic has been representing himself, defence lawyer Jack Gemmell handled his questioning. He asked Ivezic how he could remember so vividly what he did that day when he wasn’t arrested until Jan. 7, 2013.

“All the records assist me put pieces together,” Ivezic replied, noting he has received email logs and phone records and a receipt dated March 1, 2011 for the purchase of his son’s first laptop computer.

The receipt triggered a flood of memories about his trip to the computer store with his then teenage son and how, the following night of the murder, he, a “computer nerd,” was at the family home in Mississauga helping his son finish installing software.

Ivezic and Lanteigne’s husband, Demitry Papasotiriou- Lanteigne, have been on trial for first-degree murder since November. Superior Court Justice Robert Goldstein told the jury this should be the final week of evidence. The Crown alleges the pair conspired to kill the U of T accounting clerk and part-time caterer in order to collect $2 million in life insurance benefits. Papasotiriou-Lanteigne was in Greece when his husband was killed.

The last time Ivezic says he saw Lanteigne was Feb. 28, 2011. Ivezic’s DNA was found underneath Lanteigne’s fingernails, which according to his evidence, can be explained. Ivezic said he picked Lanteigne up at work and they stopped for a quick lunch at a “Gryos shack” on Queens Quay Blvd., beside Lake Ontario at the foot of Yonge Street. They talked and ate in Ivezic’s vehicle. He dropped Lanteigne off and headed back to Mississauga for a conference call.

“Mr. Ivezic did you kill Allan Lanteigne?” Gemmell asked. “No I did not.” “Did you ever discuss killing Allan Lanteigne with Demitry?” “Never.” The trial continues Tuesday.