Joseph Saulnier, representing Aydin Coban, opened his closing arguments Tuesday afternoon by telling a BC Supreme Court jury that they should convict his client only if they are satisfied he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt . “There is limited information you can glean from a piece of data, particularly in deleted space,” Saulnier told the jury. “In fact, there was often evidence that these fragments or files came from elsewhere.” Coban has pleaded not guilty to extortion, harassment, contacting a juvenile for a sexual offense and possession of child pornography. Lawyer Louise Kenworthy wrapped up her arguments earlier in the day, saying there was a “treasure trove of information” linking Coban to Todd’s harassment and blackmail. But the main issue in the trial, Saulnier told jurors, is that the identity of the person behind the messages and blackmail cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Coban’s defense did not call for evidence during the trial. Amanda committed suicide on October 10, 2012, after posting a video on YouTube saying she had been blackmailed by an online predator. (TELUS originals) “Even if you find that Mr. Coban is probably guilty, that’s not good enough. That’s not beyond a reasonable doubt,” Saulnier said. There was ample evidence at trial that Coban repaired computers and replaced hard drives, some of which he received in the mail, his attorney said. “It is my opinion that this may be due to some of the devices that he has in his possession,” he said. “If it’s the computer working and repairing these devices, there’s a correlation, it’s in his bungalow.” He warned jurors against the Crown’s use of the term “blackmailer”, calling it “advocacy”. At the start of the trial two months ago, the Crown told the court Todd had been the victim of a persistent online “blackmail” campaign three years before her death aged 15 in October 2012. “I won’t use that term,” Saulnier said. “Mr. Coban is not charged with extortion.”
“All roads lead to Mr. Coban”: Lawyer
Attorney Kenworthy said earlier Tuesday that although the evidence against Coban was circumstantial, two devices seized by police linked him to the Port Coquitlam teenager. “All roads lead to Mr. Coban,” Kenworthy told jurors as she walked them through evidence found on the two devices she said showed they were used by the Dutchman. “He is the person who committed these offences. There is no other reasonable conclusion.” A police officer testified at trial that he found evidence that several of the accounts used to extort Todd came from the two devices seized by Dutch police when Coban was arrested in January 2014. Kenworthy told the jury that a letter of employment and bank statements with Coban’s name on them were also found on one of the devices. He also said a Skype account linked to another alias used to harass Todd was active on a device at Coban’s home minutes before his arrest. Facebook records show the Skype account “KelseyMeowz” was operated by the same person using the alias “KelseyRain2,” who had previously contacted Todd, he said. “So what does that mean? It means that the user ‘KelseyMeowz’ was on that computer at that time. What time is it in the Netherlands at that time? Time 9:55 PM. Mr. Coban was arrested alone at his residence at 10:00 Mr. Coban is KelseyMeowz. Mr. Coban is KelseyRain2.” Kenworthy told jurors they don’t have to accept all or even most of the inferences the Crown has made in order to be satisfied Coban is the person who committed these offences. “This is a clear case.”
