VANCOUVER -- In his closing argument, the lawyer for Rocky Rambo Wei Nam Kam said the fact his client had no motive to kill a Vancouver couple bolsters his defence that he believed he was playing a video game.
Kam is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and has admitted he stabbed Dianna-Mah Jones and her husband Richard Jones to death in their Marpole home in September 2017. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. A clinical psychologist has testified he believes Kam was in a "gaming consciousness" at the time of the killings and may not have understood it was real.
Kam’s lawyer Glen Orris asked the court, "how would a person who otherwise appears normal commit such a horrendous crime?" He said Kam had no motive, and there was no logical reason for the killings, adding "the rationale for what he did in the house can only be explained in the context of being in a game."
Orris pointed out parallels between the violent video games Kam frequently played and the murders, arguing because "he could not appreciate in a real sense the real life consequences of his actions" the appropriate verdict would be manslaughter.
In his closing argument for a first-degree murder conviction, Crown counsel Daniel Mulligan called Kam "a demonstrated liar" and said "the fact he did not state his motive does not mean he didn’t have a motive."
Mulligan called Kam’s innocent explanations for buying a hatchet, knife and gloves that were later used in the murders “non-sensical and ludicrous” and said “Mr. Kam did exactly what he set out to do.”
Mulligan is expected to conclude his closing argument on Wednesday, at which point the case will go to the judge for a verdict. Since Kam has admitted to the killings and hasn’t claimed he’s not responsible because of a mental disorder, it’s assumed an acquittal is off the table, and the judge will convict him of either first-degree murder, second degree murder or manslaughter.
