Dustin Paxton is shown in a Calgary Police handout photo.
Witness by witness, line by line, the defence in the torture trial of Dustin Paxton chipped away Thursday at the evidence against the accused.
Mr. Paxton, 31, is charged with aggravated assault, sexual assault and forcible confinement and has pleaded not guilty. It's alleged he beat and tortured his former roommate and business partner over a two-year period starting the very day the man arrived in Calgary to work with Mr. Paxton.
The 28-year-old alleged victim testified that he was starved, humiliated and beaten — sometimes severely — on an almost daily basis. Court has heard he was battered, bruised and emaciated when he was dropped off at a Regina hospital in April 2010.
But defence lawyer Jim Lutz argued that the alleged victim was not a captive, there were no bars or chains and he could have left at any time.
He said a photo entered as evidence by the Crown and taken almost a year to the day before the man was dropped off at the hospital shows him smiling and seemingly healthy at a backyard barbecue. The picture actually works in his client's favour, Mr. Lutz said.
"He says, 'I got beat every day. The beatings never stopped,"' said Mr. Lutz referring to the alleged victim. "He must have said it 60 times.
"Even if the injuries had some sort of holiday, the injuries would have shown in the photo. The photo is the best evidence that was not the case."
The only visible injury to the accuser was a small cut on his lip.
The Crown called 43 witnesses in the trial, which started over two months ago.
Mr. Lutz argued that some witnesses were heavily influenced by police interviews conducted by lead investigator Detective Doug Crippen.
"Witnesses are being told evidence by Det. Crippen," he said. "There is a suggestibility. It really exemplifies why police interviews are a problem," said Mr. Lutz.
"Witnesses unwittingly adopt the evidence they are told."
The lawyer said there is also evidence that the investigator encouraged some witnesses to add certain details to their written statements.
Testimony from Abe Chutta, who worked briefly with Mr. Paxton and his business partner, is also suspect, Mr. Lutz suggested. Mr. Chutta testified that he and the roommate were assaulted, so Mr. Chutta cut off all contact with Mr. Paxton.
Mr. Lutz questioned why Mr. Chutta would go back to Mr. Paxton to ask for a job reference if things were so bad.
"It would be like asking Attila the Hun for a reference after he overran your country."
Mr. Paxton, who had a number of angry outbursts throughout the trial, calmly listened to the final arguments and scribbled several notes to his defence team.