The trial of Linda Lorraine Howe, the woman accused in the March 2009 shooting at Christenson Village, has wrapped in Vancouver Supreme Court, and Howe will now wait until late October to learn her fate.
Howe is facing three charges of attempted murder and pointing a firearm after she opened fire on the care home's staff when they came to evict her from her suite for ignoring several warnings to keep it free of fire hazards.
Howe appeared in court via video-link last Friday (Sept. 10) when her lawyer, Jim Bahen, closed his case, arguing that Howe had no intent to kill when she shot Christenson Village manager Kenn Perrier or fired shots in the direction of two other Christenson Village employees as they fled the mêlée. In order to secure a conviction for attempted murder, the Crown must prove the actions of the accused were done with the goal of killing.
"I say there is reason to doubt that intent," Bahen told the court.
Bahen said video evidence of the shooting and testimony during the trial revealed that Howe never sighted the rifle at any of the people she was allegedly shooting at, and at no point did she seem to move the barrel of the gun to point in the direction of the running employees.
"There is no evidence to suggest this firearm was aimed," Bahen said. "I say these counts are not proven beyond a reasonable doubt."
Bahen said Howe should instead be found guilty of aggravated assault, a less serious charge.
Judge Francis Cole seemed skeptical of Bahen's argument, noting that, at close range and with the powerful .303-calibre rifle Howe was using, shooting from the hip can be just as deadly.
Crown counsel Richard Cairns argued that Howe knew full well what she was doing and took several steps in planning the shooting and her escape - all in the name of revenge against Christenson staff.
"She knew the process of eviction. She knew date and time. She was ready to go. All she had to do was kill a few people," he said. "The evidence clearly indicates that Ms. Howe was intending to kill at least three people and perhaps more."
Cairns argued that Howe's stockpile of loaded guns, knives, an ice pick, survival gear and police scanner indicated that she was planning a violent exit and escape.
He said the only likely reason Howe did not shoot the fleeing employees was that her guns were all prone to jamming, making them hard to shoot multiple times in succession.
"The point of firing was to hit them. If the gun hadn't jammed, she probably would have fired at them again. She was trying to kill them," Cairns said.
Cairns rejected the defence's argument that the gun needed to be aimed to indicate an intent to kill.
"You can aim a gun a lot of ways. You don't have to aim down the barrel," he said. "The fact that she was a lousy marksman or marksperson doesn't take away from her intent."
Bahen's defence did not address any of the charges Howe is facing related to the carjacking of a salesman's car when she tried to escape the premises. Howe has already pleaded guilty to three firearms charges.
Cole will now consider the evidence and arguments presented by Crown and defence. He has reserved making a judgment until Oct. 25.
