‘Critical pieces of this puzzle are missing’: Defence says in closing arguments at Gerry Lawrence murder trial

Sandro De Oliveira's outlandish" account of events of the day Gerry Lawrence was murdered are almost too ludicrous to make up," according to defence lawyer Ashley Audet.

The Crown, however, suggested Oliveira's testimony is just that, a made up story designed to explain" where he was and what he was doing on Sept. 29, 2019, the day Lawrence was killed.

De Oliveira is on trial for second-degree murder. He was arrested on Sept. 30, 2020, a year after Lawrence was found dead in his Queenston Road East apartment, stabbed and slashed over and over - 14 times in total," assistant Crown attorney Mark Dean said during closing arguments.

He's willing to lie when the truth is bad for him," Dean said Thursday, pointing to inconsistencies between what the accused told the jury and police. That's exactly what he's done to you."

De Oliveira testified he'd known Lawrence for about a year and a half before his death. He regularly sold him pills, including Percocet and Oxycocet, prescribed to him for a back injury. Lawrence made money selling prescription drugs.

Lawrence was not perfect," Dean said. His lifestyle may have been different from yours. But he was a human being," he told jurors.

During cross-examination Monday, De Oliveira recounted in detail" the events of Sept. 29: He had gone to Lawrence's apartment at his request, done two drug runs, retrieved a piece of prosciutto from the choking 76-year-old's mouth and helped clean him up after he soiled himself, his lawyer said.

Sandro was clear that he was not making this story up," she said.

He wasn't worried about his DNA in Lawrence's apartment. In fact, as he previously testified, he expected it would be at 555 Queenston Rd. E. since he was there that day, Audet said. Witnesses described Lawrence's east Hamilton apartment as a revolving door, with around 10 known buyers and several suppliers, she said. There's no way to know who might have come and gone on the day of Lawrence's death, she said.

No murder weapon was found, and there is absolutely no forensic evidence whatsoever connecting Mr. De Oliveira to this crime," Audet said.

Audet urged caution in relying on cellphone evidence, which showed that Lawrence's phone connected to the same tower De Oliveira's did while he was staying with a friend on Robinson Street. Just because two phones are using the same cell tower doesn't mean those phones are in the same place," she said.

Do we know when exactly Gerry's phone moved? No. Do we know how it moved? No. Do we know where, specifically, it moved to? No," she said.

Dean said the only explanation" for Lawrence's phone pinging off this tower, around the corner" from the Robinson Street address, was that it was nearby.

De Oliveira previously said someone named Marco was also at Lawrence's apartment the day he died. The Crown said Marco hasn't been identified to jurors in surveillance footage, nor had any witnesses recognized his name. Marco is a phantom," Dean said.

Dean pointed to witness Christine Bell Sakin, a close friend of Lawrence's, who testified Lawrence told her he wanted to end his business relationship with De Oliveira. At the time, the accused was homeless, using ODSP, cash jobs and income from selling his prescription to support his life and crack cocaine addiction. If Gerry stops buying Sandro's Oxycocets, Sandro stops receiving money," Dean said.

The Crown previously suggested De Oliveira went to Lawrence's apartment to sell pills for drug money and, when his calls went unanswered, the accused killed him and stole his money, wallet, pills and cellphone.

It's not complicated," Dean said. It all fits, and it all points to Sandro."

Audet said the Crown's narrative is a piece of imagination."

The defence lawyer reminded the jury it's the Crown's job to prove guilt, not De Oliveira's job to prove innocence. Critical pieces of this puzzle are missing," she said.

In order to find Mr. De Oliveira guilty, you have to be sure," Audet ended.

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