Jurors presented with comprehensive information on alleged killer’s acquisition of pickup truck used in attack targeting Muslim family

Note: This story contains disturbing details.

Two forensic analysts testified at Nathaniel Veltman’s trial about electronic devices they found in the defendant’s apartment in London, Ont., as well as documents related to the purchase of a Dodge Ram pickup truck that was used to kill members of the Afzaal family. in June 2021.

Veltman, 22, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder, as well as terrorism. Prosecutors allege he intentionally drove a Muslim family of five on June 6 of that year, in an act motivated by far-right ideology.

“I found a bill of sale for a Dodge pickup truck,” London police Sergeant Jason Eddy said at the murder trial in Ontario Superior Court in Windsor.

Eddy was testifying about a search he participated in of the defendant’s downtown bachelor pad on June 12, six days after the attack.

Yumnah Afzaal, 15, her parents Madiha Salman, 44, and Salman Afzaal, 46, and family matriarch Talat Afzaal, 74, were killed in the attack. A nine-year-old boy survived. They had gone out for a night walk.

The bill of sale was found in an open drawer of a dresser in the apartment. It is dated May 11, 2021, with a delivery date of May 19, 2021, according to the document shown to the jury.

The documents include warranty documents, a CARFAX vehicle history report, financial documents from TD Bank, and two smaller receipts.

Documents show the truck cost just over $27,000, but with a 12 percent interest loan, the defendant would end up paying more than $36,000 over six years. He also purchased a one-year extended warranty, a fact his defense attorney highlighted to the jury.

“He got a vehicle and got an extended warranty on the vehicle,” defense attorney Christopher Hicks said during his questioning of the officer.

Laptop and other electronic devices seized

Earlier in the day, Eddy, who has supervised the London police’s forensic identification unit for the past five years, testified that he and Det. Const. Michael Comeau took an Acer Aspire laptop, a Samsung Galaxy S8 mobile phone, two USB flash drives and an external hard drive from the defendant’s apartment.

Officers testified that they attempted to unlock the laptop with the password provided to them (STUPID123123), but were unsuccessful. They created digital copies of the electronic devices to preserve the original evidence.

“Our unit’s forensic examiners are responsible for assisting in all investigations involving electronic devices, including computers, cell phones, and storage devices. We assist with search warrants, seizing evidence, making copies, and presenting results “Eddy said.

He also made another copy for an outside investigator who analyzed the electronics, Sgt. Liu Guan of the Windsor Police Service.

The trial, which is at the end of its third week of testimony, is now on pause until Tuesday, when the Crown is expected to call its next witness.

The trial is expected to last eight weeks.