Warning: disturbing content

VANCOUVER -- The first degree murder trial of a Langley woman accused of killing her seven-year-old daughter heard from the little girl’s father for the first time on Tuesday.

Stephen Rosa took the stand at the trial of his ex-wife, Kerry Ann Lewis. Their daughter, Aaliyah Rosa, was found dead in a Langley apartment on July 22, 2018.

Rosa told the court there were multiple factors that led up to his separation from Lewis in 2016, including what he called a major incident in June of that year. 

“She tried to burn the house down,” he told the court. He testified he received a text saying the house was on fire and went inside to find a dishcloth wrapped around the bottom of a pot. “It was in flames.”

Rosa told the court police were called, and Lewis was asked to leave the house temporarily. He said she began sending out text messages he described as saying goodbye to everyone, and she was ultimately taken to hospital. Rosa said he also obtained a restraining order against Lewis for a period of time. 

Rosa testified Lewis was hospitalized multiple times during their relationship due to overdosing on medication. He told the court she had a number of different types of medication, including Ativan. 

Rosa told the court he had custody of Aaliyah after their separation, and initially, Lewis had two scheduled supervised visits with her daughter each week, but those visits changed to unsupervised in April of 2018. 

“Whenever I would try to pick up Aaliyah, it was always a nightmare,” Rosa testified. “It was very difficult to get Aaliyah to come to me. There was lots of threats of her telling me to stay away from her... it was very trying.”

Rosa told the court the drop-offs with Lewis were more “straight forward,” but said Lewis always seemed in a hurry to leave and didn’t want to communicate with him. He testified he had talked to his lawyer about getting someone else to do the drop-offs and pick-ups, because there was “too much animosity.”

The Crown has said on the morning of Aaliyah’s death, she was picked up by Lewis from her father at the Langley Events Centre for a scheduled Sunday visit. The Crown told the court Lewis then purchased sleeping pills and an emergency refill of Ativan as well as other items at a drugstore, and also bought a bottle of vodka. The prosecution said they intend to prove Lewis sedated and then drowned her daughter in a bathtub. The defence has not yet presented its case. 

Rosa also testified about a nightly FaceTime call between Aaliyah and her mother, which he told the court almost always wouldn’t connect. 

The court heard previous testimony from Lewis’s ex-boyfriend that it would upset Lewis when she couldn’t talk to Aaliyah at a certain time. 

Rosa testified he had blocked Lewis’s number only on Aaliyah’s iPad, because if he didn’t, there would be “non-stop phone calls” which were supposed to be supervised, which wasn’t always possible. However, he told the court he had not blocked Lewis’s number on his phone or iPad, and she was supposed to call his phone to initiate the FaceTime call with Aaliyah. 

Rosa testified he did a test by blocking his number on his mother’s phone, and then tried to call, and it also wouldn’t connect. He told the court he would try to FaceTime or text Lewis back, but said those attempts would not go through.

The court also heard testimony from Amy Guo, a former homestay student who once lived with Lewis and Rosa, and kept in touch with Lewis in following years. 

Speaking in Mandarin with the help of a translator, Guo told the court Lewis hated that she couldn’t spend more time with Aaliyah and said she didn’t like it when her visits with her daughter were supervised. 

In cross examination, Guo was asked by the defence about an affidavit she provided in family law proceedings involving Lewis, including statements that the accused cared for her like a mother. Guo said Lewis told her she needed her help, and added she had no problem with her at the time. 

Lewis could occasionally be seen passing notes to the sheriff to give to her defence lawyer during Tuesday’s testimony. 

Rosa’s testimony is set to continue on Thursday.