Nathaniel Veltman murder trial: A recap of week 4

WARNING: The details in this article and videos may be disturbing to some viewers

The Nathaniel Veltman murder trial continued for a fourth week and heard testimony from forensic investigators who examined the apartment and pickup truck of the accused, and the arresting officer.

Here’s what you missed.

 

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

In court on Monday, two London Police Service forensic identification officers testified.

Det. Const. Specialist Richard Veerman was tasked with taking photographs of the inside of Veltman’s truck as well as his downtown apartment.

Although the bathroom and closet appeared orderly, the main part of the studio apartment was dishevelled with clothing “strewn about” the room, according to Veerman.

The jury also noted most of the drawers in the kitchen and the dresser were pulled open with items inside exposed. Police also photographed a laptop, two USB drives, a router and a cellphone on a charger.

Veerman photographed the pickup truck inside a secure area of a local towing service. He removed the plastic evidence sheet which covered the front end of the truck, where the jury could see pink and green fabric “wedged” into the hood.

Det. Const. Chris Thomas told the jury he took pictures at both the scene of the collision as well as the damaged pickup truck in the shopping mall parking lot where Veltman turned himself into police.

He took pictures of where evidence cones had been placed by traffic management officers. The jury saw images of a line of blue cones, which appeared to denote the truck’s path as it left the roadway, drove along the sidewalk and grass, and then returned back to the street.

Federal prosecutor Sarah Shaikh also read two new agreed statements of facts for the jury.

The first one tied some of the Afzaal family members to the pickup truck in which Shaikh said Talat and Salman’s DNA were both identified on the hood of the truck while DNA from Madiha was identified on the push bar at the front of the truck.

The parties also agreed Madiha and Talat were wearing clothing that was a match for pieces of fabric found wedged in the hood of the truck.

In a second agreed statement of facts, the parties agree on what was recovered from inside Veltman’s truck: an airsoft pistol that looked like a black handgun, a six-inch serrated knife, a two-inch serrated knife with a curve, and 12-inch machete in the sheath.

Veltman’s driver’s licence and a financial institution card were also seized from the cup holder.

A line of police officers look for evidence at the scene of a car crash in London, Ontario on Monday, June 7, 2021. Police in London, Ont., say four people have died after several pedestrians were struck by a car Sunday night. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Geoff Robins

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26

Const. Sarah Cochrane, the officer who placed Veltman under arrest at the Cherryhill Mall parking lot, took the stand on Tuesday.

In her testimony, she told the jury she was responding to the scene of the collision at Hyde Park Road and South Carriage road when, “I made my own decision to attend” to a “different location.”

“I was advised the suspect was there (the parking lot of a local mall),” Cochrane told the jury.

Cochrane placed Veltman under arrest for dangerous driving, and conducted a pat down of the suspect before he lay on the ground so she could examine the surroundings for “evidence, means of escape and weapons.”

Cochrane showed the jury the bulletproof vest and military style helmet Veltman was wearing upon his arrest, and the empty knife sheath she noticed on his waistband.

Assistant Crown attorney Jennifer Moser led the questions and on two occasions asked Cochrane if Veltman made any statements to her. Although the officer confirmed statements were made by Veltman, Moser did not ask for the officer to elaborate on what he said.

“He seemed happy, smiling, looking around,” Cochrane told the jury. “He didn’t seem upset.”

Within four minutes of his initial arrest, Cochrane told Veltman he was then under arrest for attempted murder. The officer read Veltman his rights to counsel and right to remain silent.

After a brief conversation with her superior officer, Cochrane said she then arrested Veltman for first-degree murder and gave him his primary caution to talk to a lawyer and to remain silent for a second time.

During the drive to headquarters, Cochrane noticed Veltman was “sitting straight up” and “looking around” at the other vehicles on the street. So much so, she testified she “staggered” her cruiser so Veltman couldn’t make eye contact with the other drivers on the streets that night.

 

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27

On Wednesday, defence lawyer Christopher Hicks cross-examined Cochrane.

Hicks didn’t specifically ask the officer any direct questions but had her walk the jury through her notebook and confirm time stamps for her actions that night.

Hicks also asked the officer to read out exactly what she said to Veltman, with respect to his “primary and secondary cautions.” These are the standard cautions given to accused persons to advise them of their rights to a lawyer and to remain silent.

Cochrane told the jury she gave Veltman both cautions, twice, and although she asked him if he understands and if he wanted a lawyer, Hicks did not ask her to confirm what Veltman said in reply.

Moser also read another agreed statement of facts for the jury. The jury was told the graphic nature of the injuries sustained, and stipulated the official cause of death for all four victims as “multiple trauma” injuries.

The jury was released at noon Wednesday so the lawyers could discuss legal matters in their absence.

Surveillance video depicts the arrest of Nathaniel Veltman at a northwest London, Ont. shopping mall parking lot on June 6, 2021. (Source: Superior Court of Justice)

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28

On Thursday, members of the jury heard new details about the items seized from the apartment of the accused in the days after the attack.

Veltman has already admitted he was driving a 2016 Dodge Ram pickup truck on June 6, 2021 when he drove into the Afzaal family. They were waiting to cross Hyde Park Road at South Carriage Road, in the city’s west end.

Sgt. Jason Eddy and Det. Const. Michael Comeau of the London Police Service’s Digital Forensic Unit were both called to Windsor to testify Thursday.

Eddy showed the jury the documents and receipts from the sale of a 2016 Dodge Ram pickup truck worth more than $24,000. Veltman paid $2,000 in advance for the truck on May 11, 2021 and took receipt of the truck on May 19. According to the documents, Veltman also paid for a year-long warranty on the truck.

The jury also learned about the police seizure of a cellphone, laptop, two USB thumb drives and an external hard-drive from Veltman’s downtown bachelor apartment.

Eddy told the jury he seized the laptop, USBs and a hard drive. Const. Comeau seized the cellphone.

Both spent much of their testimony explaining how they accessed the data on digital devices without altering or losing the data contained in them. They told the jury they used high-tech software programs that allowed them to make a “digital forensic copy” of the electronics for their investigations.

Later in the day the jury learned the data on Veltman’s electronic devices was copied and sent to an “independent forensic examiner” with the Windsor Police Service in March 2023.

Neither investigator was asked what was found on Veltman's electronic devices.

 

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29

On Thursday, Justice Renee Pomerance told the jury the trial will not be sitting until Oct. 2. The court did not provide the jury with a reason as for why they are not sitting Friday, but reassured the jury it will not extend the trial's original eight-week estimate.

“We are ahead of schedule,” Pomerance told the jury Thursday morning, when also advised them that they would not be needed on Oct. 1. That is the day Ontario courts will commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The trial will resume Tuesday at 10 a.m.