After two and a half weeks of testimony at the murder trial of Duran Redwood, closing arguments were made to the court on Thursday.
Redwood is charged with second degree murder in the death of his girlfriend, Celeste Yawney. He’s pleaded not guilty to the murder charge, and is instead looking to be found guilty of manslaughter.
The defence reiterated its stance that because Redwood was extremely intoxicated that night in May 2015 and doesn’t remember the events surrounding Yawney’s death, he couldn’t have had the intent to kill her, and for that reason should be found not guilty of murder.
Redwood’s lawyer, Kevin Hill, added his client acknowledged his fault early and often by not attempting to flee or perform any type of clean up at the scene, or even changing his blood stained pants before going to the police station.
The Crown opened its closing argument with a photo of Celeste Yawney displayed before the court, followed by another graphic photo showing the aftermath of what the prosecutor described as a “vicious beating.”
The prosecutor then went into detail on a series of text messages sent by Yawney to Redwood prior to her death that appeared to indicate she was trying to end her relationship with Redwood that night, saying he forcefully entered the house and beat her to death.
The Crown then told the jury it doesn’t matter what Redwood does and doesn’t remember about that night, saying “a drunken intention is still an intention.”
Following the closing arguments, court adjourned for the day and will resume Friday for the Judge’s charge to the jury before deliberations on a verdict begin.
