VANCOUVER 鈥� Surrey Six witness Helen Lee admitted Tuesday she was too scared to call police about suspicious men she saw in the parkade on the day of the murder.
During cross-examination by lawyer Simon Buck, Lee said she learned of a 鈥渕urder incident鈥� at the Balmoral Tower on the evening of Oct. 19, 2007, from her friend in the building who had hosted a Bible study session earlier that day.
Lee testified Monday she was nearly run over by a black BMW occupied by 鈥渟cary men鈥� wearing hoodies and leather gloves in the Balmoral parkade on the afternoon of the murders.
Buck asked her if she called police about the men she had seen after hearing from her friend there had been a murder.
鈥淣o, I thought I saw them, but at the time I was overwhelmed and I was scared so I didn鈥檛 phone right away,鈥� Lee told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Wedge.
She testified that she prepared a written statement with her husband, as well as a friend who had also seen the men and that woman鈥檚 husband, the day after the slayings.
The two husbands then took that statement over to the Balmoral Tower, Lee said.
鈥淎s far as I know, they heard that there were policemen at the location of the incident so they were heading there,鈥� she said.
The women鈥檚 names were not included in the statement because they had wanted to remain anonymous, the court heard.
Lee also testified the hooded men she saw in the parkade at 2:25 p.m. were in a black BMW 745 sedan.
Buck suggested Lee鈥檚 husband helped her figure out what kind of car she had seen, but she insisted she recognized the BMW logo when she saw it in the parkade.
Buck asked her to draw the logo and her image was entered as an exhibit.
Buck, who is representing accused killer Cody Haevischer, also grilled Lee on her detailed testimony about walking into the parkade with her three-year-old son and seeing the BMW and later its occupants.
He suggested her testimony about two men getting out of the BMW was speculative, and not based on what she saw.
鈥淵ou did what you鈥檝e always done and deduced that they got out of the BMW,鈥� Buck said.
鈥淣o, I saw them getting out of the BMW,鈥� Lee replied.
鈥淚 am putting it to you that you did not see them get out of the BMW. Do you agree?鈥�
鈥淣o,鈥� Lee replied again.
Earlier, she told Crown prosecutor Kathleen McIntosh that she saw three men in hoodies and gloves who she thought might be thieves.
Crown Mark Levitz has told the court that accused killers Haevischer, Matt Johnston and someone known as Person X arrived at the Balmoral Tower about 2:25 p.m. on Oct. 19, 2007, and made their way to suite 1505, where they executed Corey and Michael Lal, Eddie Narong, Ryan Bartolomeo and bystanders Ed Schellenberg and Christopher Mohan.
The Crown submits that Haevischer, Johnston and Michael Le were targeting rival drug trafficker Corey Lal, but killed the others so there would be no witnesses.
The trial continues.
