Warning: this article may contain content that is distressing for some readers.
Testimony in the murder trial of Nathaniel Veltman continued Wednesday with the final out of town witness.
Londoner Lindsay Marshall, 36, lived in a South Carriage Road apartment building on June 6, 2021, the evening that four members of the Afzaal family were killed when they were run down by a pickup truck at the intersection of Hyde Park and South Carriage Roads.
Marshall testified that she was reading a book on her balcony just before the incident. She told the court that, while it wasn't an unusual thing to hear, the sound of an engine revving did catch her attention.
"The sound is what made me look up," she said.
Marshall described the distance from her balcony to the scene as "about a football field and a half" away. She said that she saw a black pickup truck drive through the intersection and hit something.
"I saw something go flying 30 to 40 feet," she said.
At the time, Marshall believed the object to be a sign or a mailbox. "It was only when I saw the police officer assisting the person that I realized it was a person," she said.
She didn't call 9-1-1, but Marshall said she sent a text to family members that said, "I think I saw a hit-and-run."
She said she spoke to an officer at the scene about an hour after seeing the crash.
Viktor Poc returned to the stand to resume his testimony just after 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
As a civilian member of the London Police Service, the forensic/IT specialist was responsible for seizing and compiling video evidence.
Poc was cross examined by defense lawyer Christopher Hicks, who started by establishing Poc's role with the London police and his confidence in the accuracy of the timing on the video exhibits to be presented for the jury. This included the date and time as well as the length of time the videos last.
The defense told the jury that the video evidence, described as Veltman's progress through police headquarters, is expected to last four hours.
A recess was called about 30 minutes into the defense's presentation, as Justice Renee Pomerance declared that the audio was not clear enough to understand, and the defense was asked to provide the jury with transcripts.
Clips shown on Wednesday included Veltman sitting in the back of a police cruiser waiting to be booked by London police, a search of his person, and his booking.
In the video, Veltman is seen wearing black pants with his pockets turned out, a white t-shirt with a black cross on it, and no shoes during his booking at police headquarters. He dons a mask and is asked a series of questions pertaining to COVID-19.
When asked if he had done any drugs, Veltman admitted to taking "shrooms" on Saturday, the previous day. Police also asked Veltman if he felt suicidal, he answered "no", but upon further questioning admitted that he had felt suicidal in the past. He added that there was no reason to believe that he would hurt himself while in police custody.
Veltman said that he did understand the charges being laid against him.
Following his booking, Veltman was taken to a room where he could speak to duty counsel, a lawyer provided by Legal Aid Ontario to immediately help those who don't already have a lawyer.
After briefly asking the jury to leave the courtroom, Pomerance told the jury not to consider evidence they heard in the video regarding a previous arrest.
"This particular evidence is not in any way relevant to any of the issues in this case," she said before releasing the jury for the day.
Veltman has pleaded not guilty to the murders of Salman Afzaal, 46, his wife Madiha Salman, 44, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna Afzaal, and Salman's 74-year-old mother Talat Afzaal and to the attempted murder of a now 11-year-old boy, who is the only survivor of the incident.
He also faces terrorism charges in connection to the murders.