Dustin Paxton trial, Paxton was angry and violent, prosecutor says. Closing arguments underway despite possibility of mistrial.
A Crown prosecutor at the Prairie torture trial of Dustin Paxton said there are very few cases of this magnitude, during closing arguments Wednesday.
During the nine-week trial, which heard from 43 witnesses, evidence alleged Paxton wounded, maimed, disfigured, confined and sexually assaulted his former roommate and business partner over a two-year period.
The alleged victim cannot be named under a court order.
Prosecutor Joe Mercier summed up the Crown's case saying witnesses described the alleged victim as a gentle giant — a passive person who allowed the beatings to continue in the hopes that they would eventually stop if he did everything Paxton said and wanted.
The court heard again about the horrific injuries the man suffered, how he went from weighing 200 pounds to someone who weighed less than 90 pounds when he was dropped off at a Regina hospital in April 2010.
Mercier said Paxton used his fists to beat the alleged victim, as well as a dog leash, a baton, a piece of lumber, a bamboo stick and a steel-toed boot over the course of their relationship.
Defence lawyers claim trial unfair
A human captivity expert told the court the 29-year-old victim may have been suffering from frozen fright, said the Crown, meaning he was too scared to leave.
Prosecutors also claim Paxton controlled all of the money and the food and he became violent if the alleged victim ate more than one meal a day.
Paxton was described as violent, angry, controlling and manipulative and prosecutors argued he should be convicted of aggravated assault, sexual assault and unlawful confinement.
When the alleged victim took the witness box during the trial he said the almost-daily beatings and choking at the hands of Paxton began on Oct. 31, 2008, when he moved to Calgary from Winnipeg.
By the time the man was dropped off at a Regina hospital two years later, he was suffering from a fractured eye socket, and most of his bottom lip and part of his tongue were missing.
Paxton denies all of the allegations. While he didn't testify at the trial, his lawyer quoted a statement Paxton gave to police that there was no physical or sexual abuse and that any hitting was "mutual arguing, that's it."
The defence is expected to continue its final argument Thursday.
It's unclear when Court of Queen's Bench Justice Sheilah Martin will return with a verdict. She first has to deal with a stay of proceedings application.
Paxton's lawyers say their client did not get a fair trial. They claim to have video evidence that police coached witnesses who testified against Paxton during the trial.
If the stay is granted, there could be a mistrial. A hearing to consider the stay request begins next week.
Source:cbc
Posts
