Fearful texts sent from accused’s cellphone heard at bush party homicide trial

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A cellphone belonging to the accused in a 2021 bush party homicide was used to search news reports about the fatal attack and message a friend admitting fear about being considered a prime suspect, the court heard on Friday.

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Special Const. Kimberley Seward, an investigator from the London police digital forensics unit, testified about the details recovered from 13 devices seized by police in the wake of the July 31, 2021 homicide, including the cellphone of Carlos Guerra Guerra, who has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Josue Silva.

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The jury on Friday was shown text messages sent from Guerra Guerra’s iPhone 11 Pro Max to a friend on the morning of Aug. 3, 2021.

The 73-page exchange was read into the record Friday morning. The series of messages, beginning on Aug. 3 at about 9:40 a.m., begins with talk about music before turning to the homicide.

“Some guy got killed at a party that I was at because a (woman) that I’m close with told me that she was uncomfortable,” and told him to come, the message sent from Guerra Guerra’s device said.

“I should have never went.”

In the exchange, the messages sent from Guerra Guerra’s device said he came to pick the young woman up from the party, but she’d forgotten something in the woods so he went in with her to find it.

Violence broke out as he was attempting to leave, the messages said.

“I didn’t involve myself,” one of the messages sent from Guerra Guerra’s cellphone said. “I heard a pop and I deadass booked it. . . . I cut out of that forest so fast.”

The messages sent from Guerra Guerra’s device expressed worry the woman he came to pick up had retained a lawyer and Guerra Guerra, an aspiring rapper, would be a key suspect in the homicide.

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“It would be so easy to blame her rapper friend that she told to come,” one of the messages said.

Among the devices Seward analyzed were two computers, both belonging to Emily Altmann, 22, who was excused from the trial along with her defence team last week. The jury was instructed by the judge not to speculate on the reasons for her departure from the trial.

Guerra Guerra, 23, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder of Silva, 18, a Western University student who died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen after a bush party in southwest London in the early hours of July 31, 2021.

Guerra Guerra has also pleaded not guilty to assault with a weapon of Logan Marshall, who concluded his testimony earlier this week.

The jury also has heard that Dylan Schaap, 23, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

The court heard that the cellphone belonging to Guerra Guerra was used on July 31 at 9:05 p.m. to search “18 year old dead” in a internet browser and opened a London Free Press article about the bush party homicide. Shortly after, the phone opened a Blackburn News article and CBC London story about the incident.

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Seward provided in-depth details of how specific cellphones were linked to Guerra Guerra, Altmann and others and various social media profiles belonging to each.

The court Friday morning also heard testimony from Crown witness Det. Const. Victoria Reynolds, who took the statement from Logan Marshall at Victoria Hospital hours after the altercation.

During the nearly 40-minute interview, Reynolds said she noticed Marshall’s legs were “shaking uncontrollably” and he clearly was “shaken up” from what had happened.

Reynolds did not see any physical injuries on Marshall but testified “he told me that his head hurt and he felt dizzy.”

Guerra Guerra’s defence lawyer Ricardo Golec did not cross-examine Reynolds.

jbieman@postmedia.com

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