After a months-long trial, The jury in the double murder trial of Oak Bay father Andrew Berry has begun deliberations.
BC Supreme court Justice Miriam Gropper read both crown and defence summary statements to the jury before going over the requirements for a verdict.
“Guilty must be unanimous,” she said. “All of you must agree on the verdict.”
Andrew Berry, 45, is charged with two counts of second degree murder in the deaths of daughters Aubrey Berry, 4, and Chloe Berry, 6.
The children were found dead in Berry’s Oak Bay apartment on Christmas Day, 2017.
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The jury can find Berry guilty as charged, not guilty, or guilty of the included offense of manslaughter.
“While your verdict on any count must be unanimous, your route to a verdict need not be,” Gropper told the jury. “You could all be satisfied of Mr. Berry’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, even though individually you have different views of the evidence.”
The jury was told that any questions they have must be written down, placed in a sealed envelope and presented to the sheriff outside the deliberation room to be passed on to the judge.
“You should make every reasonable effort however to reach a verdict, consult with each other, express your own views, listen to the views of others, discuss your differences with an open mind, try your best to decide this case.”
The jury will deliberate until 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and return between 9:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. on subsequent days until reaching a verdict.
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