Mohamed Daud Omar is accused of stabbing one of his housemates in 2022 over a car-damage dispute
A man representing himself in his attempted murder trial said in his closing arguments Monday that he was unable to mount a proper defence due to a lack of resources.
“I’m outnumbered and outgunned by the Crown,” Mohamed Daud Omar said. “In this situation, I did the best that I can.”
Omar, 30, was on trial in B.C. Supreme Court in Victoria for attempted murder, aggravated assault and attempted break-and-enter over a car-damage dispute.
He is accused of stabbing one of his housemates, Sunday Aro, in 2022 at their home on Lang Street near Cedar Hill Recreation Centre after trying to break down Aro’s bedroom door.
He elected to call no evidence and did not testify on Monday. Justice Thomas Kirchner had adjourned court early on Friday, giving Omar the weekend to decide whether to testify in the case.
The judge-alone trial began on June 30. Kirchner is expected to render his judgment on Wednesday.
On Monday, Crown prosecutor Kate Dutton said in her closing submissions that Aro is alive today only because of two lucky breaks on the morning of Feb. 6, 2022.
The first happened when the knife he was stabbed with in a stairwell broke off from its handle, and he was able to flee to his room and call 911, she said.
The other happened when a second knife used to stab him also broke as Aro was trying to open the main door of the house, she said. “That gave Mr. Aro the opportunity to be outside.”
Police testified that Omar, who was still wearing bloody clothing, was arrested shortly after the incident was reported to 911.
Dutton said there was “no doubt” that Aro had assaulted Omar on the second floor that morning after accusing Omar of damaging their housemate’s car, a Lexus SUV that had sustained side-mirror damage and scratches overnight.
But Omar had plenty of opportunity to leave the house by either the front or back doors, she said.
Instead, Omar grabbed a knife and returned, she said. “And Mr. Aro had no weapon in his hand.”
Cross-examined by a court-appointed lawyer, Aro denied that he had punched Omar.
However, another witness, housemate Qianhe Qian, said he saw Aro punch Omar — who was arrested with noticeable bruising on his face — at least twice in the initial confrontation.
Their recollections also differed as to exactly what Omar said to Aro before the stabbings.
Aro said he heard Omar tell him twice: “You’re going to die today,” while Qian heard Omar say: “I’m going to kill you.”
Kirchner said he would be open to hearing arguments from Omar about the discrepancy, but Omar did not make any.
Instead, Omar, who is incarcerated, cited printing issues that prevented him from accessing legal documents a week before the start of the trial, and the fact that he was unable to cross-examine some witnesses and had needed a court-appointed lawyer to do it on his behalf.
The court-appointed lawyer was asked to question witnesses who did not want to be questioned by Omar.
Dutton said Omar had plenty of lawyers previously involved in the file, noting the case is already three and a half years old.
Omar was initially charged with break-and-enter, but Crown prosecutors decided instead to pursue a charge of attempted break-and-enter.
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