Amanda Todd case: Dutch police found passport, cash stashed in stereo during property search
It was during a second police search of a bungalow at a Netherlands holiday park in January 2014 that Lt. Erik Verstraten testified he noticed something strange.
At the time, Verstraten was with the child sexual exploitation division. He took the stand again Tuesday in New Westminster at the trial of Dutch citizen Aydin Coban, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of extortion, child luring, harassment, and possession of child pornography.
The crown alleges Coban tried to use explicit images of Port Coquitlam teen Amanda Todd as leverage to get her to perform sex acts online when she was between the ages of 12 and 15. Todd died by suicide in 2012. Coban’s defence counsel has said the case is about whether the Crown can prove who was behind the messages sent to Todd.
Verstraten told the court during the second search on Jan. 14th he opened a box with a stereo inside, and found it strange to see the middle part of the stereo was uncovered while the speakers were still wrapped and sealed.
“When I lifted it out of the box, I felt something moving inside of it, and I saw a beige carton box inside the stereo set,” he testified.
Verstraten told the court when the stereo was disassembled, they found a small box inside with wrapping paper and tape attached to it.
He testified they found a Dutch passport inside with the name Aydin Coban, along with envelopes containing 10,000 euros, and a hard drive.
Photos from the police search displayed in court showed computer equipment on the bed in one of the rooms, and a guitar under it. Further images showed a black pouch inside the guitar, and then cash inside the pouch. Another photo described as being from the living room appeared to show another guitar. Photos were also taken of a cable running along the floor in the hallway, and several boxes in some of the rooms.
The jury also heard from a witness in the Netherlands who testified by video. Adem Gokcinar told the court he met Coban as a child, and then reconnected with him in 2011. He testified he helped Coban move to a bungalow months before he was arrested. Gokcinar told the court they had a shared interest in music, and Coban had a classical guitar, and ordered a second guitar after his move. He also told the court Coban had a laptop and also got a new desktop computer after his move.
In cross-examination, Gokcinar testified Coban would repair computers, including his own, and at one point remembered him making pamphlets to advertise fixing computers and replacing old hard drives.
Coban was first charged in 2014, and was later extradited to Canada. The defence has not yet presented its case. The trial is scheduled for seven weeks.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.