Scoffs of the late Rama Gauravarapusa国际传媒檚 family filled the courtroom as Tejwant Danjousa国际传媒檚 defence lawyers painted him as a man who was so in love that it sa国际传媒渄rove him crazy.sa国际传媒�
As the Crown rested its case in Danjousa国际传媒檚 second-degree murder trial on Tuesday, June 2, defence lawyer Donna Turko picked up hers, giving the court a different representation of the man who had been previously shown to the courts, through numerous witnesses, to be abusive, controlling and jealous.
In her brief opening statement, Turko submitted that Danjou, in addition to harbouring severe jealousy, was mentally unwell at the time he bludgeoned his common-law partner to death with a wine bottle in a West Kelowna hotel room on July 22, 2018.
sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檝e heard it from the victim herself,sa国际传媒� Turko said. sa国际传媒淲ords to the effect of sa国际传媒榶ousa国际传媒檙e crazysa国际传媒�, sa国际传媒榶our headsa国际传媒檚 not workingsa国际传媒�.sa国际传媒�
Turko said Danjou became delusional about Gauravarapu having relationships with other men.
sa国际传媒淚t tormented him,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淎t the time of the tragic death of Ms. Gauravarapu, Mr. Danjou did not have the requisite intent to commit the murder of the woman he loved so much.sa国际传媒�
If the defence can prove that Danjou did not have intent to kill Gauravarapu, or couldnsa国际传媒檛 form it due to his mental state, he could end up being convicted of manslaughter rather than second-degree murder.
Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Todd Tomita, the defencesa国际传媒檚 first witness, provided some insight into Danjousa国际传媒檚 delusion.
Through two interviews with Danjou, amounting to six hours total, Tomita diagnosed Danjou with delusional disorder-jealous type.
sa国际传媒淎 delusion is by definition, a false, fixed idea thatsa国际传媒檚 held with subjective certainty,sa国际传媒� Tomita testified. sa国际传媒淚f that idea is influencing someonesa国际传媒檚 interpretation of events, then it can affect their decision making in a way that theysa国际传媒檙e not making decisions on objective, consensual reality. Theysa国际传媒檙e making it based on their delusional interpretation of what is occurring.sa国际传媒�
Tomita drew several examples of Danjousa国际传媒檚 pathological jealousy from the six hours they spent speaking at Okanagan Correctional Centre, one of which stemmed from a 2018 flight Danjou and Gauravarapu took to Las Vegas.
Danjou claimed to Tomita that Gauravarapu had sa国际传媒渉iked up her dresssa国际传媒� while on the plane, allowing the man in the seat next to her to sa国际传媒渇lirt and fondle her.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淚 took it as nothing, but he said a man sitting next to him fondled her leg,sa国际传媒� Tomita said.
Even something as simple as sa国际传媒渆ndearing eyessa国际传媒� from Gauravarapu to one of Danjousa国际传媒檚 friends led to fights between the two, Tomita told the courts.
Danjou upheld this belief after Gauravarapusa国际传媒檚 death, according to the testimony of one officer tasked with keeping custody of Danjou on the night of his arrest.
Const. Rick Goodwin testified Danjou wanted the RCMP to check a Ford F150 in Surrey that contained sa国际传媒渃rucial evidencesa国际传媒� of Gauravarapusa国际传媒檚 infidelity.
In March, the court heard RCMP discovered Danjou hiding in a dumpster shortly after Gauravarapu was found covered in blood, clinging to life in their nearby West Kelowna hotel room. She died a short time after RCMPsa国际传媒檚 arrival and Danjou was arrested.
Danjou sa国际传媒� who entered a surprise guilty plea as the trial commenced on Feb. 25 before retracting it the next day sa国际传媒� has admitted to causing Gauravarapusa国际传媒檚 life-ending injuries but did not admit to having the intention to kill her, the latter being a key component of a second-degree murder conviction.
The trial resumed on Monday (June 1) after two and a half months of delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two weeks have been set aside for the completion of Danjousa国际传媒檚 judge-alone trial.
READ MORE: Surrey man accused of murdering his partner in West Kelowna back in court
READ MORE: Surrey couple had abusive relationship prior to womansa国际传媒檚 West Kelowna murder
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