Greed drove teen to murder his father, Crown argues
Accused says he acted in self-defence during confrontation over used Ferrari
A Vancouver teen accused of murdering his father over the purchase of a Ferrari was motivated by greed, a prosecutor said Wednesday.
In his final submissions to a B.C. Supreme Court jury in Vancouver, Crown counsel Geordie Proulx said that Alexander Shevalev wanted to have the luxury vehicle returned to him before the slaying of his dad, 80-year-old Vladimir Shevalev.
The Crown’s theory is that the accused, who was 19 at the time of the March 2015 slaying and is now 22, had stolen or misappropriated more than $100,000 and had used the money to buy a used Ferrari.
When his father discovered the money was missing and that the vehicle had been purchased, he demanded that the vehicle be taken back to the dealership, the accused’s trial has heard. The vehicle was brought back to the father’s apartment.
The jury has heard two versions of what happened when the teen was summoned to his father’s luxury highrise apartment in Vancouver’s Coal Harbour.
The Crown says that after an argument over the vehicle, the teen choked his father from behind and then placed his body on his bed with the assistance of Nawid Sami, a friend of the accused who testified that he witnessed the assault.
“In my submission the motive in this case was pure avarice,” Proulx told the jury.
“He wanted that car. He acted rashly but with intent.”
The accused testified in his own defence and claimed that during the argument his father became angry and spat at him and hit him in the groin.
Proulx argued that the accused, who had lied to police and others, was being untruthful in his account and lacked credibility. He said that the version of events outlined by Sami was to be preferred over the accused’s account of what happened.
Proulx urged the jury to reject the claims of Shevalev, who has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, that he was acting in self-defence at the time of the slaying.
The prosecutor noted that the accused was aware of the health problems of his father.
Glen Orris, Shevalev’s lawyer, argued that the physical abuse the accused suffered at the hands of his father while he was growing up was a factor in the dispute that led to the dad’s death.
The defence lawyer also pointed to the breakup of the marriage of the accused’s mother and father, and the fact that the son was caught in the middle of the marriage breakdown.
He argued that his client had acted in self-defence during the confrontation that occurred in the dad’s luxury suite.
Orris told the jury that there was no evidence that Shevalev had any intention to commit murder.
The teen had to hold his father down to prevent him from getting up and attacking him again, said the defence lawyer.
“Alex is the one who has been injured. He’s been assaulted and he wants to stop it. It’s what we call self-defence.”
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Wedge told the jury that she would begin her final instructions this morning. The jury is expected to begin their deliberations later today.