THUNDER BAY – There is no physical evidence linking Justin Coaster to the murder of Charlie Finlayson, confirmed the lead detective in the investigation.
Coaster, 34, pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder and criminal negligence causing bodily harm on Jan. 20.
He was arrested on Aug. 11, 2022 after a six-hour standoff in the 200 block of Blucher Avenue.
His arrest followed a weapons call reported on July 29, 2022 by the Thunder Bay police in the 800 block of McMillan Street where Finlayson, 37, was found deceased.
The firearm used in the incident was never found.
Det.-Const. Ryan Wasilewski, with the Thunder Bay Police Service testified on Tuesday under cross-examination there was no video, forensic, GPS tracking, fingerprint or physical evidence tying Coaster to the murder.
Defence lawyer George Joseph asked whether the only evidence came from the mouths of the witnesses, who may have been intoxicated.
While the evidence is based in witness testimony, Wasilewski said, he couldn't speak to whether all witnesses were intoxicated or their level of intoxication.
“It's not unusual that witnesses lie to the police?" asked Joseph. "It's not unusual that victims themselves lie to the police?”
Wasilewski agreed it is possible that witnesses and victims aren't always truthful.
Earlier in the trial, the court heard from a witness who said another individual, not Coaster, confessed to Finlayson's murder, saying Finlayson had hurt a member of his family.
Joseph argued that the credibility of the testimony of one witness, who identified Coaster as the perpetrator, was tainted by their relationship with that alternative suspect.
Wasilewski testified he interviewed the witness on Jan. 11 of this year, during which a mugshot of Coaster without an identifying tag and a police database photo of him were shown to the witness.
These photos were presented to confirm the identity of the alleged perpetrator, said Wasilewski and a photo lineup was not conducted. At this time, Coaster had already been arrested and charged in Finlayson's death.
The same mugshot was shown during a photo lineup to that witnesses and two others who were all living at the residence where Finlayson was killed, on Aug. 2, 2022. Coaster was not a suspect at that time.
Wasilewski said that none of these witnesses linked alternate suspects to the case.
Following these interviews Coaster became a suspect.
Police later found that a secondary witness in B.C. received messages from the alternate suspect implying a confession to the murder. However, the witness deleted these messages and all attempts to follow up were not possible, said Wasilewski.
Two Snapchat videos were also presented in court showing one of the alternate suspects holding an alleged gun. The gun in the first video could not be confirmed to be real, said Wasilewski, while the gun in the second video was not the same one used in the shooting.
Closing submissions are set for May 1.
None of the allegations against the accused have been proven in court.
