A friend of a Liberty Village couple on trial for killing their upstairs neighbour over a barbecue dispute nearly three years ago testified that two days before a body was discovered in a garbage compactor, she heard someone screaming for help.
On June 8, 2023, the body of 53-year-old filmmaker Rayeez Habib was found in the garbage room in the underground parkade of the condo complex. Khoa Tran is charged with second-degree murder. Quynh (Isabelle) Nguyen, Tran’s wife, is charged with accessory after the fact and doing an indignity to a body.
Hua explained she was visiting from Vietnam and had been sleeping on a mattress in the living room of the condo. On the night of June 6, 2023, Hua said Tran suggested she sleep with his wife in the couple’s bedroom because Tran was working in the living room.
Hua testified she was awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of loud footsteps, what sounded like someone chasing someone else and furniture being moved or dragged, then someone yelling, “Help, help, help.”
She said she didn’t know where Tran was and asked Nguyen if she heard the noise, but testified her friend told her to “go back to sleep, maybe they’re just filming or something.”
Hua said after police came by Tran and Nguyen’s unit on June 9 to inquire if they had information about Habib who had been reported missing, she and the couple had a discussion about not speaking to police.
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“They told me not to say anything to the police. I have the right to remain silent, but if they force me to answer the questions, I should say that all three of us were sleeping in the bedroom that night,” Hua explained, referring to the night of June 6th when she heard the screams.
Hua testified she had no choice but to agree to their request because she had nowhere else to go. Hua had no other friends or family in Toronto. She said she eventually moved out of the condo at the end of June because she didn’t feel comfortable staying there and her boss at the restaurant where she worked was worried about her.
When she moved out, Hua explained it was only Nguyen living in the Liberty Village condo because Tran had been arrested. She said she later agreed to speak to police after they contacted her despite the fact Nguyen continued to ask her to remain silent.
A series of messages from Facebook Messenger between Nguyen and Hua were presented, in which Nguyen repeatedly reminds her not to talk to police.
In one message from July 3, 2023, Nguyen writes, “please promise me not to talk about Khoa’s case. You must be silent and request to speak to a lawyer first. If you don’t do that, we are at risk. I repeat that over and over again because that’s the only way you can protect yourself.”
Hua explained to Tenhouse that she was scared about being arrested despite the fact she had nothing to do with Habib’s death.
In another message, Nguyen asks Hua, if possible, to record her phone call with police if they call her, so she “relate it to her lawyer”.
When Tenhouse asked what she thought Tran had been arrested for, Hua said she didn’t know but Nguyen told her that the police had arrested the wrong person and feared she, too, might have been arrested.
Hua also said she witnessed an argument between Habib and Tran on May 20, 2023. It happened while she and Tran were out barbecuing on the patio directly below Habib’s unit.
Hua recalled that Habib came downstairs and had some words with Tran regarding moving the BBQ away from the door before Habib turned away and slammed his door hard. She only knew it had to do with the smoke from the barbecue and that Habib seemed angry.
She testified later in the day that she saw Tran and Habib walking through the complex together.
Tran’s lawyer, Liam O’Connor, suggested to Hua that the reason the men were speaking is because Tran let everything calm down before he went over and rang the doorbell to see if he could speak to Habib.
“Khoa tried to knock on the door to talk to him but he (Habib) didn’t go down,” Hua replied, saying she wasn’t sure how they got in touch.
Tran and Nguyen have pleaded not guilty.
The cross-examination continues Friday.
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