The trial for the man accused of first degree murder in connection with the death of Revelstoke youth Daniel Levesque began Wednesday in a Victoria courtroom.
Joshua Tyler Bredo is charged with first degree murder, sexual assault and unlawful confinement in connection with Levesque's death in a Victoria condominium on Aug. 3, 2011.
Bredo pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Levesque, an aspiring musician, moved to Victoria from Revelstoke in June 2011. Bredo hired him to work at the 7-Eleven he managed, and they quickly became friends.
Levesque's mother Stacey Thur testified on the first day of the trial, Jeff Bell of Victoria Times Colonist reported.
Thur said Levesque texted her that he was being interviewed for a job at a law firm and was about to move into a new home.
“He just said to me how excited he was and how everything was coming together,” a tearful Thur testified. “so it was weird when I didn’t hear from him right away.”
On the second day of the trial, Katherine Graham, who lived next door to the Cormorant Street condo, testifed she heard a commotion.
“I heard a man’s voice say: ‘Let me go, just let me go,’” Graham testified, according to the Times Colonist.
Police were called to the condo, where they found Levesque and Bredo lying injured. Both were transported to hospital, where Levesque died from his injuries.
The case has taken several turns in the years since. Bredo was initially charged with second-degree murder, but the charges were stayed in December 2011 when a pathologist's report said the cause of death was cocaine toxicity.
Investigators continued to press the case and a year later Bredo was charged with first degree murder. He was charged with sexual assault and unlawful confinement in December 2013.
The trial is expected to last several weeks.