A man accused of killing a Surrey, B.C., woman during an alleged home invasion in June of 2024 has chosen to have a jury decide his fate. Adam Mann’s second-degree murder trial began at New Westminster Supreme Court on Monday. He has pleaded not guilty to killing Tori Dunn. Close to two dozen of the victim’s family and friends packed the courtroom as Crown prosecutor Sarah Fullbrook began opening remarks. She told the jury Dunn had been watching TV in her living room on June 16, 2024, around 9:45 p.m., when an intruder entered her house and stabbed her. According to Fullbrook, police arrested Mann in the area within 30 minutes of the attack. She said to prove its case, the Crown intends to call police officers, a pathologist and a DNA expert. But it was Dunn’s boyfriend who took the stand first—testifying he had been in the bathroom when he heard her scream. Trafford Wace told the court he immediately ran into the living room where he saw an intruder standing near Dunn. “I said ‘Who the f**k are you?’” Wace testified. “He looked back at me and said, ‘Oh shit.’ And he ran to the opposite side of the couch from where I was.” Wace said Dunn then told him the man had stabbed her, so he went to the nearby kitchen to grab a knife to defend himself and his girlfriend. According to Wace, that’s when the man fled and he turned his attention to Dunn who he said had a large stab wound to her abdomen. He told the court he called 911 and put it on speakerphone while trying to comfort Dunn. He said he used a blanket from the couch to apply pressure to the wound. “She was slowly losing consciousness,” Wace said in emotional testimony. “She was telling me she thought she was dying.” Wace also testified about the suspect description he gave to the 911 dispatcher and responding officers. He said he told them the man was white, close to six feet tall, and wearing a hoodie, grey sweatpants and a dark toque. Wace testified the lights were dim in the living room during the time both men were in the space. Under cross-examination by Paul McMurray, one of two lawyers representing Mann, Wace again responded to questions about his initial suspect description by reiterating he had told police he thought the suspect was white. The jury has heard that Mann is of African and Indigenous descent. Surrey Police Service Const. Jay Mander took the stand next, saying he was working in a neighbouring district but responded to the call because it was coded as a priority one home invasion. Mander testified he arrived at the same time as about three other officers, including one from Surrey RCMP and some of the gang crime unit. He said he and another officer moved the injured Dunn from the living room to the front yard and he began administering first aid, while more arriving officers cleared the house to make sure there were no suspects inside. Paramedics eventually took over treating Dunn, before transporting her to Royal Columbian Hospital where she would succumb to her injuries. The trial is scheduled to last 14 days. It’s not clear yet if Mann intends to take the stand in his own defence.
