No doubt accused killed his friend, judge tells jury

But was crash a suicide pact gone wrong or a deliberate plot to commit murder?

There’s no doubt that Andrew Cowan killed his best friend Ed Witt in 2012 after launching a Ford F-150 over a ramp at high speed and into the second storey of a Leamington building.

Superior Court Justice Kelly Gorman told the jury in Cowan’s murder trial Tuesday it should have “no difficulty” determining that. She also answered another question for the 12-member jury ahead of its deliberations into whether Cowan is guilty of first-degree murder.

“Did Andrew Cowan cause Ed Witt’s death unlawfully? The answer is yes,” Gorman said in her two-hour charge to jurors following a trial that saw the prosecution question 21 witnesses, with the defence introducing evidence from four of its own witnesses.

The big question left to the jurors is whether the man behind the wheel in the early morning of Oct. 21, 2012, was part of a mutual suicide pact between two friends, in which case the sole survivor walks away a free man, or whether Witt was the victim of a planned and deliberate attempt to kill on the part of Cowan.

“You are entitled to come to common sense conclusions,” Gorman told the jury.

Depending on their deliberations, the judge told the jury, it could also return with a verdict of manslaughter or second-degree murder.

The trial heard that Cowan and Witt had lost heavily in gambling at Caesars Windsor the previous evening and that both had previously spoken to friends, family or colleagues about “ending it all.”

Seconds before the Ford pickup used a flower bed as a deadly ramp, the vehicle’s accelerator and throttle were fully depressed and it was hurtling through the air at a speed of at least 130 km/h. Investigators testified there were no signs of braking.

The judge referred to Caesars Windsor casino security footage indicating there was “no evidence the two men were planning to die that night — the video speaks for itself.” She added that Witt, who lost $5,500 gambling that night, was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, as was Cowan.

Gorman said the defence doesn’t have to prove there was a suicide pact between the men, but the Crown must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. She said if the jury believes what happened that night was a “double-attemptedsuicide by two men who were best friends,” then no crime was committed.

After about six hours behind closed doors, the jury adjourned early Tuesday night. The jurors have requested a playback of some of the evidence Wednesday morning, after which their private discussions resume.