The fate of a Liberty Village couple charged in relation to the death of their upstairs neighbour, whose decomposing body was found in a garbage compactor, will soon go to a jury for deliberations.

Khoa Tran is charged with second degree murder, while his wife, Isabelle Nguyen, is charged with accessory after the fact and doing an indignity to a dead body three years ago.

Both have pleaded not guilty.

On Thursday, Crown counsel Anna Tenhouse told the jury that 36-year-old Tran shared all the motives he had to murder Reeyaz Habib, a 53-year-old filmmaker who lived alone, when he testified during the trial.

“On May 20, 2023, a heated dispute over Mr. Tran’s barbecue occurred. Habib was upset about the smoke and the smell reaching his condo. He slammed the door,” said Tenhouse.

“Habib threatened to spread rumours that Mr. Tran was using a propane barbecue. He accused him of trafficking his wife’s friend Linh Hua, a friend from Vietnam who was living with the couple. Habib threatened to have him removed from the complex.

“We all heard Mr. Tran’s version of events. He said it made him mad and vengeful.”

Tenhouse said that while Nguyen and Hua slept in the couple’s bedroom, Tran had exclusive opportunity to move in and out of Habib’s home in the night undetected.

“Mr. Tran was not in a good place. He felt threatened by Habib. He was not working. His wife was supporting him and now he might lose his place in Liberty Village,” which Tenhouse said was a place he loved.

“Consider his demeanour when he testified. Why did he throw out Mr. Habib’s bike and computer bag? He was angry enough to kill him and then dispose of his body,” she added.

Tenhouse said that Tran chose to confront Habib at 3 a.m. on a work day. “He knew Mr. Habib lived alone. There was no one to witness the killing. There was no one to intervene. Why would he confront him then? He intended to kill him,” said Tenhouse.

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Tenhouse reminded the jury that Linh Hua testified she was awakened by the screams for help and that she’d never heard anything like that before.

Tenhouse said the pathologist testified the injuries could have been the result of a beating, with the fire extinguisher.

“Equally plausible. The attack could cause him to fall down the stairs,” said Tenhouse.

She said Tran embarked on an elaborate cleanup and disposal of Habib’s personal items to make it look like he disappeared. “He created a web of deceit to try to cover up the murder. He went to great lengths to conceal the body,” Tenhouse told the jury, saying he misled investigators.

She called Habib defenceless with no one to assist him when he was confronted by Tran in the middle of the night. “He was angry. He was revengeful. He wanted to win the fight. He wanted to eliminate Mr. Habib.”

Tenhouse pointed out there was a neighbour who testified she saw Tran leaving Habib’s apartment on June 7, 2023 and locking the door, the day after the screams were heard by a number of witnesses.

Someone used Habib’s fob five times on June 8th between 3:55 and 4:55 am to access the underground.

“We suggest that someone is Mr. Tran,” explained Tenhouse, pointing out that when no one helped move the body wrapped in towels and blankets into the garbage bin, he enlisted his wife to help him move the dead body.

The Crown said that Tran also left his personal identifiers behind, including video surveillance showing a man disposing of items in garbage bins, Tran’s DNA on the duct tape handle wrapped about the blanket which the body was wrapped in, and his fingerprints on the duct tape and on a handwritten note next to the body.

Tran’s defence lawyer, Liam O’Connor, said in his closing address that his client is not guilty, saying the intentional killing of someone who lives right above you makes little sense. Also not consistent with common sense is cleaning up for a couple of days afterwards with neighbours to see, nor writing a note asking staff or a stranger to assist with disposal, said O’Connor.

“Whoever is doing this, it’s amateur hour,” said O’Connor, referring to walking around in public areas where you know there are cameras.

O’Connor said we may never know what happened in Unit 218 in the Liberty Village complex, but said his client is innocent.

O’Connor pointed out that the pathologist noted Habib’s injuries may have been consistent with falling down stairs.

He called the Crown’s theory that Habib was beaten was not grounded in evidence and speculative.

“Sometimes there are accidents. Sometimes there are tragedies. I submit that this is an awful tragedy. I submit it is not a murder,” said O’Connor.

Nguyen’s lawyer, Tyler Smith, said the only evidence the Crown has that his client was involved in being an accessory and helping dispose of Habib’s body is the fact that her DNA cannot be excluded from being on the duct tape on a handle wrapped around the blanket, which concealed the body.

Smith said the expert from the Centre for Forensic Sciences who testified could not address when the DNA may have been deposited and said it’s possible there was cross-contamination or transfer from other sources including within the garbage bin.

“Where did the tape come from? Did it come from her condo? Did she handle it a month or a year before? These are things that can’t be ruled out or determined,” said Smith.

He also told the jury there is no evidence that Nguyen knew that her husband unlawfully killed Habib.

Smith said when Nguyen told Hua not to speak to police, that was advice she had been given from her lawyer, given Tran had just been arrested for indignity to a dead body and obstructing justice.

Smith said at the time, Tran had not been charged with murder.

“The Crown has proven nothing more than suspicion and conjecture… she deserves to be acquitted,” said Smith, calling the evidence circumstantial

The jury is expected to begin deliberations next week.