A trial began Tuesday for a Tofino man accused of killing a man after meeting up with him from a dating app.
Luke Priddle is charged with the second-degree murder of 47-year-old Mathew Phillips on Dec. 28, 2020, as well as robbery and theft of a motor vehicle.
The two men were known to each other when they messaged on the app Grindr and arranged to meet for sex at Phillips’ Chesterman Beach Road apartment, Crown prosecutor Christina Proteau told the B.C. Supreme Court jury in her opening submissions at Priddle’s trial in Port Alberni.
At some point in the encounter after consuming cocaine, Priddle attempted to rob Phillips and attacked him, inflicting a “great number of injuries,” she said.
As Phillips lay dead on the ground, Priddle stole a stash of cocaine and money and Phillips’ car, and took measures to cover his tracks and buy time, Proteau said.
The jury is expected to hear from 11 Crown witnesses over two weeks, including police officers, Priddle’s employer at the time, a friend of Priddle’s and a person who knew both Priddle and Phillips, she said.
Admissions of fact involving DNA evidence that put Priddle in Phillips’ home were read into the court record.
Priddle’s DNA was found on a drinking glass in the apartment and his blood was found in the bathroom and kitchen, according to the admissions.
Phillips died from a stab wound to the neck inflicted by Priddle, Proteau said, reading from the admissions of fact.
Const. David De Montbrun took the stand Tuesday and described a search for Priddle on Dec. 29 to conduct a wellness check that ultimately led to the discovery of Phillips’ body.
De Montbrun said police received a request for a wellness check from Priddle’s mother, who said she had received a concerning message.
The officer located a mobile home in an RV park that he believed belonged to Priddle. It was unoccupied, except for a small dog, and unlocked and there was no sign of a disturbance, he said.
After speaking to someone at the RV park and with Priddle’s mother, the officer went to the Gas N Go gas station in Tofino, where he believed he might find an acquaintance of Priddle’s.
De Montbrun came to believe Priddle was in Nanaimo, based on speaking with this acquaintance and Priddle’s co-workers, and based on a ping to Priddle’s phone, he said. He made a request to Nanaimo RCMP for help locating Priddle.
On Dec. 30, De Montbrun and other officers searched for a vehicle they believed to be connected, locating one at the gas station that matched the description they had been given, he testified.
The vehicle was registered to a Chesterman Beach Road address, he said.
De Montbrun went to the multi-unit home and at the threshold of an upper suite, he saw what looked like a bloody footprint, he testified.
“As soon as I opened the door, I immediately felt a blast of heat and smelled a distinctive odour of human body decomposition,” he said.
Inside, he found Phillips’ body in a pool of blood, he testified.
De Montbrun also found what he described as a crack pipe, a small bag similar to one used to package drugs and a bottle of lubrication.
In the kitchen, all four elements of a stove were turned on to maximum heat. The front two burners were “red hot” and empty frying pans were on the back two burners, he said.
“The stove appears to have had a fire,” he said, adding there was a “bunch of scorched material” on top of the stove.
The admissions of fact also included the fact that a pair of Phillips’ shoes were found in his vehicle at the gas station with DNA from both Phillips and Priddle.
A pair of wet jeans and a shirt seized from inside Priddle’s motor home were found to have blood and the DNA of both Phillips and Priddle.
The trial continues Wednesday.
