Mother of P.A. homicide victim breaks down as graphic images shown in court

Tyler Vandewater faces a charge of second-degree murder in the June 2017 death of his cellmate Chris Van Camp at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary.

Warning: Graphic content

PRINCE ALBERT — Chris Van Camp’s mother broke down as graphic images of her son’s body inside his Saskatchewan Penitentiary cell were shown at the trial of the man accused of killing him.

Tyler Vandewater, who is charged with second-degree murder in the June 2017 death of his cellmate at the federal prison, sat quietly in the prisoner’s box as a member of the Prince Albert police forensic identification section went through detailed photos connected to the scene.

Cpl. Janelle Samoila described the cell shared by Van Camp and Vandewater as having “a lot of blood in a lot of different places” on the morning of June 7, 2017. Among the items seized from the scene were ripped institutional towels, T-shirts, pillow cases, bed sheets, paper and plastic bags, most of which were stained with blood. Under the bed, she saw cloths in a bag that was so wet, blood was seeping through, Dupuis told court.

Blood had also “saturated all the way through the mattress,” she said.

Van Camp’s mother, Lauren Laithwaite, broke down when a close-up image of Van Camp’s face appeared on the screen in Court of Queen’s Bench.

“Oh my god,” she whispered as she wiped away tears.

The pictures showed Van Camp in nothing but underwear, while a video captured puncture-like wounds as well as trauma to his face. Blood was smeared “from one end (of the cell) to the other … to some extent,” Cpl. Normand Dupuis testified.

“I was pre-warned what I was going to see and that doesn’t really prepare you,” Laithwaite said outside the courthouse.

Seeing the evidence and hearing the details, she added, “is a whole different thing … We’re talking about my son here.”

Samoila testified that when officers lifted up the mattress, they seized what appeared to be a wire.

“One end was sharp,” she said, describing it as “shaped like it was from a chain-link fence.”

Dupuis said most of the wounds visible on Van Camp’s body appeared to come from a nail or an awl. The exception was a cut on his face, court heard.

Another item seized was what Samoila described as a shank, with all but an inch-long pointed end wrapped in a black material “almost like it was a rope or cloth.” The material covered roughly three-quarters of the metal, and also contained visible blood stains.

According to an agreed statement of facts, Van Camp died from excessive blood loss caused by blunt force trauma and sharp force injuries on his body. He also suffered a collapsed lung.

Defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle described each of the surfaces of the evidence found in the room; Samoila said fingerprints could not be detected to determine if a particular person had held or touched them.

Testimony is expected to continue Friday, with medical examiner Dr. Shaun Ladham scheduled to take the stand.

— With Prince Albert Daily Herald files from Peter Lozinski