Adam Mann’s second-degree murder trial begins in New Westminster

Adam Mann’s second-degree murder trial began Monday at New Westminster Supreme Court. He has pleaded not guilty to killing Tori Dunn, a Surrey, B.C., woman, during an alleged home invasion in June 2024. Mann chose to have a jury decide his fate. Nearly two dozen of Dunn’s family members and friends filled the courtroom as Crown prosecutor Sarah Fullbrook delivered opening remarks.

Fullbrook told the jury Dunn was watching television in her living room on June 16, 2024, at about 9:45 p.m. when an intruder entered her home and stabbed her. She said police arrested Mann nearby within 30 minutes of the attack. The Crown intends to call police officers, a pathologist and a DNA expert to testify.

Dunn’s boyfriend, Trafford Wace, testified first. He said he was in the bathroom when he heard her scream and ran into the living room, where he saw an intruder near Dunn. Wace testified that he asked the man who he was. The man looked back, said, “Oh shit,” and ran to the other side of the couch. Wace said Dunn told him the man had stabbed her, so he went to a nearby kitchen to get a knife to defend himself and his girlfriend. The man then fled, according to Wace.

Wace said Dunn had a large stab wound to her abdomen. He called 911 on speakerphone, tried to comfort her and used a blanket from the couch to put pressure on the wound. In emotional testimony, he said she was slowly losing consciousness and told him she thought she was dying.

Wace also described the suspect to the 911 dispatcher and responding officers as white, close to six feet tall, and wearing a hoodie, grey sweatpants and a dark toque. He testified that the living room lights were dim while the two men were there. During cross-examination by Paul McMurray, one of Mann’s two lawyers, Wace reiterated that he had told police he thought the suspect was white. The jury has heard that Mann is of African and Indigenous descent.

Surrey Police Service Const. Jay Mander testified next. He said he was working in a neighbouring district but responded because the call was coded as a priority one home invasion. Mander said he arrived at the same time as about three other officers, including one from Surrey RCMP and some members of the gang crime unit. He and another officer moved Dunn from the living room to the front yard, where he began first aid, while arriving officers cleared the house to ensure no suspects were inside. Paramedics later took over and transported Dunn to Royal Columbian Hospital, where she died of her injuries.

The trial is scheduled to last 14 days. It is not yet clear whether Mann intends to testify in his own defence.