William Sandeson denies dismembering gunshot victim

WARNING: This story contains graphic details.

Tempers flared Wednesday as a Crown lawyer took William Sandeson, step by step, through the moments when he shot and killed Taylor Samson in August 2015.

Sandeson is on trial for first-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

He has admitted to the killing, but claims he acted in self-defence. Sandeson was 23 at the time and Samson was 22.

The Crown questioned why he had a loaded handgun at a drug deal when Samson was unarmed

Sandeson gave a general outline of his defence when he first started testifying on Monday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Dartmouth, N.S. But during his third day in the witness box, the Crown pressed him for much more detail, which occasionally led to testy exchanges.

"You had a loaded handgun," Crown prosecutor Carla Ball said at one point. "What were you afraid of?"

"I didn't want to use my gun," Sandeson replied. "I didn't even take it out of my pocket."

Sandeson said he had agreed to do a deal with Samson for 20 pounds, or nine kilograms, of marijuana for which he agreed to pay $40,000.

But Sandeson has testified that he had misgivings in the days leading up to their deadly meeting. He said he believed Samson was behind a violent home invasion the previous week at the home of another alleged drug dealer. Sandeson said Samson wasn't one of the three men who participated in the invasion, but he believed he was behind it.

Sandeson said for that reason, he delayed meeting Samson until late in the evening of Aug. 15. Ball suggested the real reason for the delay was that Sandeson wanted to make sure no one was around when he lured Samson to the apartment.

"I wasn't luring him," Sandeson replied. "He was trying to meet with me."

The two men are seen on security video in the hallway outside Sandeson's apartment in south-end Halifax, entering the building at about 10:26 p.m.

Sandeson said things soured pretty quickly and he quoted Samson as saying he wanted to "get this the f–k over with."

Sandeson said he dumped out the contents of the duffel bag Samson had brought with him, to make sure it contained the marijuana. Then he said he went to his bedroom to retrieve $10,000 in cash.

When he returned to the kitchen, Sandeson said he counted out five, one-pound bags of dope and put them back in the duffel bag. He said at that point, Samson realized the cash was well short of the agreed-upon amount. Sandeson said he told Samson he got the rest of the money in the home invasion, to which he said Samson replied: "If you're going to play games, I'm taking all of of this." Sandeson said he took that to mean Samson planned to take both the drugs and the money.

"No, you're not," Sandeson said he told Samson. "You're lucky you're getting what I'm giving you." He said at that point, he showed Samson his loaded handgun, which he had tucked into his pants pocket and concealed it under a baggy sweater.

Sandeson said Samson came at him and the two of them struggled for control of the handgun. He said he eventually got the upper hand and pointed the weapon, shouting at Samson to leave.

Cross-examination continues Thursday

Sandeson said Samson sat down and told Sandeson to calm down. Sandeson said Samson asked for a beer but Sandeson said he refused, fearing the bottle could become a weapon.

Sandeson said Samson was laughing and at one point he said "you're done" and lunged. Sandeson said that's when he fired the single shot.  

Sandeson told court that he dragged Samson's body down the hall and put him in the bathtub while he cleaned the apartment.

Ball asked Sandeson whether he dismembered Samson in order to fit him in the duffel bag he used to carry the man out of his apartment. Sandeson said no, he simply folded Samson's legs. Ball said the bag was too small to fit Samson, who was six foot four inches and weighed 230 pounds, but Sandeson again denied dismembering his victim.

At one point, Ball shouted at Sandeson in the witness box, asking if he'd considered that "you've got somebody's child, somebody's brother, somebody's boyfriend dead in your bathtub." Sandeson's lawyer objected to the question and the court took a break.

The Crown will continue its cross-examination on Thursday.

This is the second time Sandeson has faced a trial for first-degree murder. A new trial was ordered in 2020 after a verdict from a trial in 2017 was overturned on appeal.