Jury views bullet-riddled jacket
William Savage’s murder trial continued late last week with a trio of investigating officers on the witness stand.
The Fenelon Falls man is on trial in Superior Court of Justice Lindsay after pleading not guilty to the first-degree murder of David Palmer, of Bowmanville. The Crown alleges Savage killed Palmer on Oct. 2, 2015.
It’s the prosecution’s theory that Savage owed Palmer a substantial amount of money and the only way to get out the debt was to kill Palmer with a .308Winchester rifle.
In her opening statements, assistant Crown attorney Rebecca Griffin told the jury that Savage lured Palmer to a secluded area in Haliburton where his remains would eventually be found.
On Thursday, jury members viewed several photos of Palmer’s jacket. The weathered jacket was found about six months after his disappearance on a private property at a remote location in Haliburton. The then 46-year-old’s skull and parts of his arms and legs were also discovered near the jacket. Alongside his remains were his ring and live .308-calibre bullets, according to the Crown.
The Crown introduced photos of the jacket through OPP forensic identification officer Laura Tozer. The jury viewed five photos of holes in the jacket, which were all located on the left side, starting at the collar and moving down to the start of the zipper. Some of the holes were right through the material, while others only went through the surface of the jacket. During cross-examination, Savage’s lawyer asked the officer if the jacket was ever tested for blood.
“It was not examined by a biologist,” she explained.
In re-examination, Tozer explained that not all evidence is tested by the Centre of Forensic Sciences.
“They will say what they think is of value,” she explained.
The live .308-calibre bullets found were also not tested for fingerprints or DNA, according to OPP forensic identification officer Heather Landry.
“No, not that I am aware of,” she said, admitting police also never found any spent .308-calibre bullets.
Landry collected and documented all the evidence found on May 6, 2015. The jury were shown several of her photos, documenting the discovery of Palmer’s remains, bullets and clothing items.
Photos of Palmer’s skull, radius, left and right ulnas, right and left fibulas, the right tibia and six smaller bone fragments were entered as exhibits.
Palmer’s torso was never found. According to an agreed statement of facts, there was no evidence of injury being inflicted or occurring before death from the recovered bones and tissue.
Landry also collected and documented items seized during a search at Savage’s home in July 2016. There police located two guns. One was located in the ceiling of the garage, while another was found in the rafters of an utility room. A bag of ammunition was also discovered in the same rafters. However, police were unable to find a murder weapon at Savage’s home.
The .308-Winchester rifle that the Crown alleges Savage used to kill Palmer was never recovered despite many search efforts by police.
The trial resumes Tuesday.