Witness admits ID mistake in fatal beating
Son of victim tells court he was not in right state of mind after losing his father
The son of a Kelowna man who was viciously beaten to death acknowledges that he initially made a mistake in identifying one of his dad’s assailants.
The admission by Kody Phillips was made during his cross-examination Wednesday at the trial of four Hells Angels associates who have pleaded not guilty to the June 2011 manslaughter of Dain Phillips.
Shortly after the attack on his dad, Phillips told police that Thomas Vaughan was among the group, including the accused, who kicked and stomped his father as he lay on the ground.
But during his examination-in-chief Monday, Phillips told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Mark McEwan that Vaughan, the driver of one of the vehicles at the scene, did not get out of the truck and join in the attack.
Under questioning by defence lawyer Sandy Ross, Phillips admitted that he had mistakenly told police that Vaughan was involved in the fatal assault.
“I was not in the right state of mind,” Phillips told the judge. “I had just lost my dad.” Phillips said that when he realized he had made the mistake, he went to the RCMP detachment to report the error.
Phillips, 25, also admitted that he was wrong to have initially told police that all of the assailants from Vaughan’s truck had weapons with them when they approached the victim.
On Monday, he had testified that the four accused — Robert Cocks, Daniel McRae, Matthew McRae and Anson Schell — got out of the truck and kicked his father while he lay on the ground.
The four accused have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter.
They were initially charged with second-degree murder.
Following the attack, Vaughan was also charged with second-degree. His charged was later stayed by the Crown.
Cocks’s son, Norman Cocks, and Robert Thomas, both full-patch members of the Hells Angels, earlier pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the attack and were sentenced to 15 years in jail.
Court heard that they used a baseball bat and a hammer to hit Phillips over the head.
They were initially charged with second-degree murder.
The trial continues.