Halifax yoga teacher's death 'obviously murder,' not self defence, argues Crown

Nicholas Butcher did not kill girlfriend Kristin Johnston by accident or in self defence, but did so because she was ending the relationship, the Crown said in its closing arguments at Butcher's second-degree murder trial.

"It was obviously murder and it wasn't self defence," Crown attorney Carla Ball told the jury in her closing arguments in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax on Thursday.

Butcher, 36, is accused of murdering the 32-year-oldMontreal-born yoga teacherin her Purcells Cove-area home on March 26, 2016. He has pleaded not guilty.

The court heard a 911 call in which Butcher said he cut off his own hand with a power saw and said he killed Johnston.

Peter Planetta, Butcher's lawyer, said in his closing arguments that Johnston was upset with Butcher, who got "in the way" of her plan to rekindle a relationship with Mike Belyea.

The jury has heard that Butcher found Johnston and Belyea in bed together hours before her death. Butcher testifiedthat Johnston didn't break up with him that night, contradicting testimony from two of Johnston's friends.

"She was in his [Belyea's] apartment and Nick Butcher shows up and gets in the way," said Planetta.

He argued that Johnston was angry at Butcher, as evidenced in her last message to Belyea apologizing for Butcher showing up at his house.

"Jesus f----ing Christ, I'm sorry," read the text message shown to the jury. Planetta said it's impossible to read that without seeing anger.

Planetta argued Johnston snapped due to all the pressure she was under with her failing yoga studio, went into the kitchen, grabbed a knife and stabbed Butcher 13 times. Butcher's attorneysaid his client was only acting in self defence something, he remindedthe jury, he does not have to prove.

Ball asked the jury to reject Planetta's suggestion that a 137-pound woman was able to attack Butcher in the way he described: 13 stab wounds in a "nice tight pattern."

Ball also countered that Johnston had defensive wounds on her hands but Butcher didn't have similar wounds on his hands. Ball said Johnston was struggling for her life.

"Butcher wants you to believe that she [Johnston] was an erratic, emotional, roller-coaster wreck," said Ball who told the jury to also reject this.

Butcher read Johnston's private messages, Crown alleges

Ball reminded the jury of testimony from technology experts who said Johnston's private Facebook messages were accessed from her home laptop after she had already left for a night out.

Ball describedButcher's explanation that he drove home at 1:30 a.m. because he wanted a particular cigarette as "silly," arguing it was more likely he went there to read Johnston's Facebook messages.

Ball said the Crown's theory is that Butcher went on Johnston's laptop and read all her Facebook messages in which she described being "smothered" and "trapped" and scared of ending her relationship with Butcher.

One of the Facebook messages accessed at 1:40 a.m. was with Heather Townsend, Ball reminded jurors.Johnston only became Facebook friends with Townsend that nightafter she left her house, so Johnston wouldn't have accessed the message from her home computer, Ball said.

Ball remindedjurors that Butchersat outside Belyea's apartment for nearly two hours and his explanation for doing so was not credible.

Planetta reminded the jury that there were other messages between Johnston and Butcher that "painted a very different picture" from the select few the Crown presented as evidence. Planetta said the Crown only introduced messages that fit its narrative of what happened to Johnston.

Justice Josh Arnold is expected to give his final instructions to the jury Friday morning, with the jury being sequestered after that.

The trial began two weeks ago and is before a judge and jury.

The CBC's Blair Rhodes is live bloggedfrom court.Those on mobile can read here.