Confession admissible in West Van murder case, judge decides

VANCOUVER — A judge has ruled that the confession of a man accused of fatally shooting a West Vancouver man and chopping up his body is admissible in court.

A lawyer for Li Zhao, 56, who has pleaded not guilty to the May 2016 second-degree murder of Gang Yuan, 42, had argued that the accused’s statements to police after he was arrested were not given voluntarily and should be thrown out.

In a brief ruling Monday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Terence Schultes said he “greatly appreciated” the quality of the submissions of the lawyer. He said that the Crown had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Zhao’s statements were voluntary and should be admitted as evidence.

The judge said that the reasons for his decision, which came after a lengthy pre-trial proceeding, would be given at a later date.

The accused, who came into court wearing a suit and tie, had little reaction to the ruling.

In the statements to police, Zhao told an officer that following an argument with Yuan, a millionaire businessman who lived in his British Properties home with Zhao and Zhao’s wife, he fatally shot the victim.

Zhao confessed to police that after the shooting he dragged Yuan’s body from the driveway into the garage, where he used a power saw to cut up the body.

The accused’s lawyer argued that the statements were not voluntary for a number of reasons, including that Zhao was cold and hungry in the Vancouver jail before being interviewed by police and that he was not given a proper warning that he had the right to remain silent.

But the Crown argued that the conditions of the accused in jail before giving the police statement could not be characterized as inhumane and that what went on in the interview room was more important to the issue of voluntariness.

The trial is expected to continue today with testimony from police officers.