James Landry 'murder for lobster' trial hears closing arguments
The lawyer for a Cape Breton fisherman accused of killing Phillip Boudreau last year says his client overstated his role when he was questioned by police, in an effort to keep other members of his crew out of trouble.
A Nova Scotia Supreme Court jury in Port Hawkesbury, N.S., heard final arguments Thursday afternoon in the second-degree murder trial of Joseph James Landry, 67, a crew member of the lobster boat Twin Maggies.
In a recorded interview with police, Landry said he had fired four shots and then told the captain of the Twin Maggies to ram Boudreau’s boat.
But Landry's lawyer, Luke Craggs, told jurors Thursday that all four shots hit the boat and Landry had simply wanted to scare Boudreau, who court has heard was cutting lobster traps.
He urged the jury to find Landry, who did not testify, not guilty of second-degree murder.
Craggs said Landry didn’t hit Boudreau and there’s little evidence he gave instructions to ram the vessel. The lawyer also suggested the Crown’s star witness, a crewmate of the accused, was lying when he described how Boudreau was killed.
Craggs questioned testimony from Craig Landry, who told the court that James Landry and The Twin Maggies' captain Dwayne Samson tied Boudreau to an anchor so he would sink.
Craig Landry is James Landry’s third cousin. Craggs said that Craig Landry, who had a murder charge against him dropped to accessory after the fact, is minimizing his role in the crime.
'Cripple' and 'destroy'
But Crown prosecutor Shane Russell told the jury that James Landry was directly involved in the killing.
He said Landry told police he had been pushed to the limit and wanted to “cripple” and “destroy” Boudreau if he got the chance and “let the crabs eat him.”
When Landry saw Boudreau that morning and suspected him of cutting traps, that was the opportunity to get rid of him, the prosecutor said.
The jury listened this week to police interviews with James Landry recorded following the disappearance of Boudreau, whose overturned boat was found at the mouth of Petit-de-Grat harbour early on the morning of June 1, 2013.
He at first denied having anything to with the crime, but then admitted he shot at and rammed Boudreau’s boat. Court has heard Boudreau was cutting lobster traps, and Landry said the victim had threatened to set his house on fire and taunted him for years.
"I wanted to destroy him," Landry says. "I was seeing black. I was so mad."
Landry says he regrets the killing, but adds that someone had to do it.
"I regret it," he tells an RCMP investigator. "I told you the truth. It's all over now."
The Crown has told the jury that Landry used a fishing gaff to drag Boudreau out to sea.
The body of 43-year-old Boudreau has not been found.
The jury will continue watching police interviews on Thursday.
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