Prosecutors press Chau Lam on her mother's killing
Chau Lam, 59, and her sister Hue Lam, 62, each pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the October 2022 death of their mother, Kieu Lam. The jury trial began earlier this month in the Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa.
Testifying in Vietnamese through a translator, Chau Lam began her testimony earlier this week by telling the court she loved her mother — and that she killed her.
"I was scared my mother would hit my sister to death, she would hit me to death," she said. "Sometimes she just used a stick to hit us in the head. We had to protect ourselves."
Since their arrest, the sisters have said they endured years of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of their mother.
During Chau Lam's testimony, the court heard about her mother's history of medical issues, including a fractured hip and shoulder, and repeated visits to doctors and hospitals in the years leading up to her death.
Chau Lam told the jury her mother never directly threatened to kill them, but said the violence had been escalating before the killing.
Under cross-examination, Chau Lam could not point to any specific serious assaults or injuries inflicted by her mother. She also agreed there were no defensive wounds on her body when she was arrested.
Prosecutors challenged the defence's argument the sisters were under their mother's control, noting that one held a job, they attended temple and both had taken English classes.
The Crown has argued Kieu Lam gave life to her daughters, only to have hers taken. Prosecutors previously told the jury the woman was "sleeping defenceless" in bed when the sisters smashed her head with a hammer and strangled her.
Chau Lam acknowledged that she was "angry" at the time of the killing — as she told police following her arrest.
Difficult testimony
The court recessed several times Thursday and Friday as Chau Lam became emotional under questioning. At one point, she broke down while describing how the abuse worsened after her sister was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
"I'm a human being. I know what is right and what is wrong," she said.
"It's not that my mom just scolded us a few times and then we would get upset and kill our mom," she added, saying if her mom had given them "a little bit of love" they would be content.
As testimony continued, Chau at one point Thursday said she could no longer go on.
"No matter how many times, you will not understand," she told the court. "I will now stop talking. The more I talk, the more it looks like I tried to blame my mom, so I [will] stop talking."
Court was adjourned for the day. It resumed Friday with further cross-examination focused on the condition of the victim, who was 88 years old and used a walker.
After 16 minutes of questioning, Chau again became emotional and another break was required.
She told the jury: "The more people talk, people say that I try to blame my mom. My mom's already dead. If my mom was still alive, then I am not sitting here."
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