Trial begins for Hamilton man charged in Gerry Lawrence murder

Many people knew Gerry Lawrence. Many had been to his east Hamilton apartment to buy drugs. Some had borrowed money from him.

Everyone knew he carried cash from sales in his wallet, suggested defence counsel Ashley Audet.

Gerry liked to be flashy with his money, didn't he?" the lawyer asked during cross-examination.

Witness Brandie Carretta, a close friend of Lawrence's, agreed. He might have $1,000 in his wallet at any given time, she testified Wednesday.

Gerry Lawrence was found stabbed to death in his third-floor apartment at 555 Queenston Rd. E. around 10 p.m. on Sept. 29, 2019.

Of his 14 wounds, seven were stab wounds. The most fatal were to his heart and jugular. He was 76 years old," assistant Crown attorney Mark Dean said in his opening address to a jury of 12 Tuesday.

Sandro De Oliveira of Hamilton is charged with second-degree murder.

On the witness stand Wednesday, Carretta occasionally struggled to retrieve names and events from memory. She was using drugs at the time of Lawrence's death and was high when she testified during pretrial, the court heard Wednesday. She has since moved in with her mother and got clean, she said in court Wednesday.

She did remember De Oliveira, and identified him in the courtroom when prompted by the Crown: Can you point him out to the members of they jury?"

Carretta looked around the room.

All the way over there, on the other side of the room," she said, pointing to the accused.

De Oliveira, a short, balding man, sat with his lawyers wearing a green sweater, grey polo shirt and khaki pants, ankles shackled. He occasionally swivelled his chair back and forth as he listened to proceedings before Justice Toni Skarica.

Carretta testified that De Oliveira and his wife, Andrea Dino, sold prescription pills to Lawrence. She and the couple used to live in the same building, the court heard.

They were among a small circle of clients and suppliers that fuelled Lawrence's opioids business, the Crown said Tuesday. But, he said, they weren't friends.

You will be presented with evidence that, in the four-month period leading up to his death, Gerry had repeatedly told his close friend, Christine, that he wanted this business relationship with Sandro to end," Dean said Tuesday.

Lawrence's body was found by friend, Helena Eyles, at around 10 p.m. the day he was killed, Eyles testified Tuesday. He was lying on his back at the foot of his bed in a pool of blood," Dean said in his address. Valuables, such as his wallet and cellphone, were missing, he said.

An agreed statement of facts presented Wednesday detailed the forensic investigation at Lawrence's apartment. Photos show bloodstains on the floor, door frame, dresser and bathroom sink and door of the unit, several matching Lawrence.

No evidence was found linking Sandro to the scene," the Crown said

At least two samples were unidentifiable. One came back with Carretta's DNA.

The defence asked whether there was anything that might have caused her to bleed while at Lawrence's apartment.

Oh, probably, yeah," the witness replied. She said she had used in the bathroom, which might cause her arm to bleed.

Audet asked if she'd be surprised to learn" her blood was found in his bathroom.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was in the living room, too. And the kitchen," Carretta

Carretta testified Lawrence had put her up rent-free for about nine months, up until about six months before he was killed. In exchange, she cleaned, shopped and cared for an ulcer on his foot. After she moved out, she continued to visit him to purchase pills, help him dress the ulcer and take care of his cat.

Audet said it was clear Lawrence was quite generous," lending money and taking IOUs for drugs from several in his circle.

Carretta herself had been a recipient of his generosity, having lived with him for about nine months and, on several occasions, receiving pills in advance of payment. She was one of several people who owed him money when he was killed, she testified. She also admitted to stealing pills from him on occasion.

She said others had stolen from him, too - money, bikes, a cellphone.

Witnesses in the trial include both close friends and those who had interactions with De Oliveira around Sept. 29, 2019, including the cab driver who picked the accused up from the victim's apartment the day of the murder, the Crown said. The first police officer on scene also testified Tuesday.

The jury will also review cellphone records and surveillance footage, including from inside the lobby of Lawrence's apartment, which the Crown said shows De Oliveira coming and going three times" on the afternoon Lawrence was killed.

We are going to be presenting you with evidence, piece by piece, through each witness, until you are certain of who killed Gerry Lawrence," the Crown told jurors.

The trial, which began April 4, is expected to last several weeks.

Kate McCullough is an education reporter at The Spectator. kmccullough@thespec.com