Warning: This story contains content some readers might find disturbing.
VANCOUVER - It’s video the Crown is arguing shows items being purchased "“specifically to use to kill someone."
Security footage of someone shopping at a Canadian Tire store has been played at the trial of Rocky Rambo Wei Nam Kam, a man accused of killing a Vancouver couple two years ago.
Kam is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of 65-year-old Dianna Mah-Jones and her husband, 68-year-old Richard Jones. He has pleaded not guilty.
Mah-Jones and Jones were found dead in their Marpole home on Sept. 27, 2017. In an opening statement, the Crown said it expects the court will hear evidence Jones died of “multiple sharp force injuries," including stab and slash wounds, and Mah-Jones died from blood loss after her carotid artery was severed.
Witnesses have testified about seeing a hatchet and knife on the ground at the front of the couple’s home the day their bodies were found.
The crown played security video footage in court on Monday, which the court heard was from Sept. 13, 2017, at a Canadian Tire on Southwest Marine Drive.
The footage shows multiple camera angles of a person entering the store, and walking around the aisles. The general manager of the store, Stephen Pointon, testified at one point the customer stopped at the knife section.
Pointon told the court the video eventually shows an axe, baseball hat and gardening gloves being rung through at the till. He also went over a transaction record from that day with the Crown, which included the purchase of a hat for $6.99, an axe for $18.99, and gardening gloves for $5.49. Pointon told the court the total with tax came to $35.24, and was paid for with cash.
The Crown has told the court it anticipates a number of witnesses will identify the accused as the person who purchased those items.
The court also heard from Vancouver police Det. Simon Cracknell, who testified he did research on the hatchet found at the couple’s home, and discovered a sticker on the side listed a company who supplies Canadian Tire. Cracknell told the court he also found an image of a hatchet on Canadian Tire’s website that appeared identical. He testified he found the store also sold similar knives to the one found at the scene.
The Crown has also told the court they have no evidence of any connection or relationship between the accused and the victims, but they intend to argue the killings were the result of planning and deliberation.
The defence has not yet presented its case. The trial continues Tuesday.
CTV News Vancouver's Maria Weisgarber is covering the case live from court. Follow along below.
