Veltman trial: Court recognizes National Day of Truth and Reconciliation on Oct. 2

WARNING: The details in this article and videos may be disturbing to some viewers

The trial of Nathaniel Veltman, like many others currently underway, will not sit Monday in recognition of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The jury was told Thursday, they would not be needed until Tuesday Oct. 3, and that the trial is ahead of schedule.

This is the fifth week for the trial after jury selection started on Sept. 5 and eight weeks of court time have been set aside.

Evidence has been heard for 13 days with the remainder occupied with legal arguments in the absence of the jury. Those arguments are subject to a publication ban.

The trial will resume at 10a.m. on Tuesday.

Week 4 Recap:

The week started with a new Agreed Statement of Facts, outlining the items seized inside Veltmans’ pickup truck.

They include: an airsoft pistol that looked like a black handgun, a six-inch serrated knife, a two-inch serrated knife with a curve, and 12-inch machete in the sheath.

Also on Monday, Detective Constable Specialist Richard Veerman showed the jury the pictures he took of Veltmans’ downtown London apartment.A police van sits outside of an address in London, Ont. on Tuesday, June 8, 2021. The address is linked to Nathaniel Veltman, the suspect in the murder of four members of a Muslim family on Sunday THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Geoff Robins

They show a small ‘studio’ apartment that is messy, with numerous drawers open plus various electronic devices visible.

The first officer to interact with Veltman testified on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Const. Sarah Cochrane says Veltman was cooperative at all times during her arrest of the accused bust she did say he was consistently “smiling” and “looking around”.

She told the jury she initially arrested him for dangerous driving; charges that were upgraded twice to attempted and then first-degree murder.

The crown read another agreed statement of facts on Wednesday, about the causes of death for all four victims.

The official cause of death is listed as “multiple trauma” from blunt force injuries.

On Thursday two members of the London Police’s Digital Forensic unit testified.

They told the jury they seized a cellphone, laptop, two USB thumb drives, an external hard-drive and sale documents for the pickup truck used in the collision.

The trial did not continue on Friday, although the judge did not provide a reason to the jury.