‘I know I am talking to a killer,’ friend testifies at trial
LINDSAY — Derek Francisco says he became dreadfully concerned with a single text from David Palmer’s phone.
“I know I am talking to a killer,” Francisco testified Thursday as William Savage’s firstdegree murder trial continued in Superior Court of Justice in Lindsay.
The Fenelon Falls man, who has pleaded not guilty, is accused of killing Palmer in the fall of 2015.
The Crown’s theory is that Savage owed Palmer a substantial amount of money and the only way to eliminate his debt was by killing Palmer with a rifle at a remote location in Haliburton on Oct. 2, 2015. Francisco messaged and called his friend multiple times on the day of the killing, but received no response.
“Dave always texted me back,” Francisco said in chief examination.
The following day, Oct. 3, 2015, Francisco received a text from Palmer’s phone, but something caught Francisco’s attention. The person who sent the message from Palmer’s phone had spelled out the word “tomorrow.” Francisco explained that Palmer would always communicate tomorrow by spelling it “2morrow.”
“I was dreadfully concerned at that point,” he explained.
It wasn’t until Oct. 5, 2015, that Francisco drove to Palmer’s home in Bowmanville.
Francisco told the jury he gained entry into the house when Palmer’s mother and stepfather arrived at their son’s home. Francisco had reached out to them about his concerns.
“It wasn’t like him to leave his dog at home,” Francisco testified, noting the dog was without food and water. He also noticed two empty safes.
The following day, Oct. 6, 2015, Palmer’s parents went to the Durham Regional Police station in Bowmanville to report him missing, while Francisco and three of Palmer’s other friends were driving to Cameron to confront Savage. The men knew Palmer was supposed to meet Savage on Oct. 2, and Savage was supposed to pay him $8,500 of $17,000 debt he owed Palmer.
“We were on a mission,” Francisco testified. “My buddy was missing and I really needed to look into his (Savage’s) eyes.”
Francisco said Savage wasn’t home, but he was able to get Savage’s son to call the accused.
“It sounded like he (Savage) was not in a good state of mind,” the witness explained to the jury. “His voice was not right on the phone ... a little shaky.”
During the conversation, Francisco said he was trying to get Savage to meet him in person, but Savage wouldn’t agree to a meeting.
“I pretty much told him that I was going to come find him whether he liked it or not.”
Later that night, Oct. 6, 2015, Francisco kept the pressure on Savage with a series of texts.
“You said you wouldn’t ever hurt Dave,” a text stated. “Your house will be full of cops soon bro looking for clues.”
Palmer’s Honda was eventually found on Oct. 14, 2015, just off Spruce Lake Trail. About six months later, Palmer’s partial remains were located about 275 metres from his car. The prosecution alleges Savage killed Palmer there with a rifle.
The trial resumes Monday.