Closing arguments in Lam murder trial turn on self-defence

CBC

2 days ago

Jurors will soon have to decide whether Hue and Chau Lam were acting in self-defence when they killed their mother, Kieu, almost three years ago.
Closing arguments wrapped up on Monday, with no dispute that the two sisters killed the 88-year-old woman in her sleep. Instead, the defence urged jurors to consider the mindset of two sisters who endured decades of isolation and abuse.
Ewan Lyttle, representing Chau, asked the jury to "walk a mile in their shoes before judging them."
"Chau was someone who never received love or affection from her mother," he said. "She was made to feel like a disappointment, and unwanted. She was chronically verbally and physically abused, and this caused her to suffer from persistent depressive disorder."
He said the abuse escalated in the week leading up to the killing on October 31, 2022, and became a daily occurrence. At one point, he said, Kieu used a broom handle.
The abuse was unpredictable, according to Lyttle, who called it "reasonable" to assume it would simply continue once Kieu woke up from her sleep.
He said Chau felt like she couldn't escape. Her upbringing in a Sino-Vietnamese household created a strong sense of obligation to stay in the home and care for her mother.
She feared police wouldn't believe her, Lyttle told the court, and worried that reporting the abuse would only worsen her ordeal.
"Chao's perspective of what her options were must be seen from this very unique life experience," he said.
Hue is representing herself, but the court has appointed a lawyer known as an amicus curiae, a role intended to ensure she gets a fair trial. That lawyer, Paolo Giancaterino, raised arguments on her behalf on Monday.
"It is not a case about revenge, retribution or anger," he said. "This is a case about a woman who from a very young age was subject to the control of her mother and subject to emotional and physical violence."
He said his client's diagnosis of Parkinson's disease made her even more vulnerable to the abuse. She lost her job, and Giancaterino said that meant Hue had "no value" in her mother's eyes. He said her disability also made it harder for her to escape the worsening violence.
Giancaterino cited expert opinion that Hue was suffering from major depressive disorder. He urged jurors to keep that in mind — even if they reject the self-defence argument.
He said it raises a reasonable doubt about whether she had the "requisite intent required for murder."
Lyttle made a similar argument, citing his client's depression. He said the jurors could opt for manslaughter instead.
Crown calls killing 'wildly disproportionate'
The Crown said there can be no doubt that the sisters intended to kill their mother.
"Hue and Chao brutally murdered their own aging and frail mother as she lay sleeping in her bed," said prosecutor Julian Whitten.
He said there was no evidence they were hallucinating, and no sign their depression triggered a psychotic break.
The killing didn't happen at a single stroke, he pointed out. The hammer blow didn't kill Kieu, but only knocked her out. He said the sisters would have had to strangle her for a minute or more to finish the job.
Whitten started a one-minute timer, leaving the courtroom in silence to allow the jurors to ponder how long that would take.
As for self-defence, Whitten called the killing "wildly disproportionate" to the abuse the sisters said they suffered.
He said and abuse was "neither heinous nor life-threatening," and there was no evidence of anything as serious as a black eye.
Whitten asked how an elderly woman who used a walker could possibly be such a grave threat, especially as she slept.
"This abuser, this aged, frail 88 year old was sleeping," he said. "There was nothing reasonable about any fears that Hue and Chao harboured."
He cited the statements the sisters made to police and a 911 operator, saying they were "angry" with their mother in light of her constant hitting, cursing and scoldings. At that time, he noted, they did not mention self-defence.
Justice Narissa Somji is expected to deliver her instructions to the jury on Tuesday, before sending them to deliberate on a verdict.