Lawlor decided not to kill man after compliment: trial

KITCHENER — Derrick Lawlor, charged with murdering a man on the edge of Victoria Park, had previously planned to kill a different man but relented after getting a compliment, his trial was told on Thursday.

“He told me that at some point he met this man at Victoria Park and he ended up at his home,” Marg Cybulski testified. “They were just talking. He had an intention of killing this man. This man complimented him on his good listening skills and he didn’t follow through.”

Cybulski, a community support co-ordinator with Thresholds Homes and Supports Inc., offered “supportive listening” to Lawlor from 2003 up until a week after he is alleged to have murdered another man, Mark McCreadie, on the night of April 9, 2014.

Lawlor has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.

Cybulski met with Lawlor at Coffee Culture in Waterloo at 11 a.m. on the day of the killing.

“He was very upset following a meeting with his supervisor who informed him that his contract will not be renewed,” Cybulski told Crown prosecutor Linda Elliott.

“He appeared anxious and was talking about the struggle, how he’s going to provide for himself.”

Lawlor, 56, worked as an adviser to students with disabilities at the University of Waterloo.

Cybulski said Lawlor wanted to enter a residential psychiatric treatment program at Homewood Health Centre in Guelph, but feared he couldn’t after losing insurance coverage from UW.

Questioned by defence lawyer Stephen Proudlove, Cybulski said she had no indication that Lawlor might hurt or kill someone.

Cybulski met with Lawlor again at 10 a.m. on April 10, just hours after McCreadie died.

“He appeared less worried about the loss of employment, but he was concerned about what happened the night before,” she said.

Lawlor told her he had taken two prescription drugs, drank a beer at home, got four more at the liquor store, wandered the streets, went to a bar and then ended up at Grand River Hospital.

Proudlove asked her if she saw any visible marks or injuries on Lawlor. “No,” she replied. Cybulski said Lawlor called her from the hospital mental health ward on April 14 and asked for a meeting. She met him on April 16.

“He told me he had something important to tell me and he asked for a private room for us to meet,” Cybulski said. “He

told me that he wasn’t honest with me. He told me that he was going to Victoria Park for some time, having sex with strangers.

“He also told me that a couple of months before that he had an urge to hurt or kill someone. He went out and he picked up gloves, duct tape and a knife.”

This is the same day Lawlor told her about deciding not to kill the man who complimented him, she said.

Cybulski added Lawlor said that when he heard about a homicide in Victoria Park, he checked his bag and found his gloves and knife missing.

McCreadie, 50, had a cut just below his belly button and had been strangled.

Cybulski said Lawlor told her he recalled being at Victoria Park on the night of April 9 but didn’t remember what happened.

“He recalled that he saw blood on his hands at some point.”

Lawlor told Cybulski he “wanted to clear his name” and called police, who spoke to him at the hospital, she said.

Cybulski’s organization used to be called Waterloo Regional Homes for Mental Health Inc. but changed its name to Thresholds. It offers help to people with significant mental health issues.

The trial continues on Monday.