The man accused of fatally stabbing Tori Dunn in her Surrey home on June 16 is without a lawyer.
Adam Troy Mann, 40, from Ontario has been charged with one count of second-degree murder.
Mann appeared before Vancouver Provincial Court Judge Adrian Brooks on Nov. 17 on two robbery charges.
However, as soon as the case was called, defence lawyer Ben Lynskey applied to be removed as counsel.
“Do you intend to get a new lawyer?” Brooks asked Mann.
“Yes, I am,” Mann said. “I’ve never had the opportunity to review disclosure at all.”
Crown prosecutor Justine Jarvis said evidence disclosure had been provided and that if he gets a new lawyer, disclosure would be provided to that person as well.
Mann reiterated he hadn’t received disclosure for any files before the courts.
The murder charge currently before Surrey Provincial Court is the most serious matter; there are eight other charges that will now all be heard together in Surrey, Brooks said.
The next appearance is Nov. 27 in Surrey.
Charges Mann faces
Mann is charged with theft under $5,000 in connection with a merchandise theft from a Lululemon store in Richmond on Feb. 19.
He faces the same charge in connection with the theft of a purse and its contents from a woman in Vancouver on Jan. 15. For the same day, he faces a charge of possessing bear spray for a purpose dangerous to the public peace or for the purpose of committing a criminal offence.
Also for Jan. 15, Mann is charged with uttering a threat to cause death or bodily harm to a man in Vancouver. For that same day, Mann is charged with resisting or obstructing a police officer.
The charges he appeared before Brooks on Nov. 15 are in connection with two April 25 alleged robberies of people in Vancouver.
On another Surrey file, Mann is charged with the May 26 aggravated assault of a woman in that city.
Mann is further charged with violating a probation order for allegedly possessing knives on May 28.
Finally, there is a murder charge.
Mann is now being held at North Fraser Pretrial Centre. He told Brooks he is on lockdown and has limited phone access to call legal aid.
The history of bail proceedings and releases on all the current charges were unavailable due to court computer problems.
At the time of Dunn’s death, Mann was on bail despite facing criminal charges for an unrelated robbery. That was despite having “barely missed the criteria for being diagnosed as a psychopath,” according to his parole record, The Victoria Times Colonist reported.
Grieving father
Aron Dunn spoke to Glacier Media on the phone from Saskatchewan on Friday.
“It’s disheartening, every time that court appearances come and go, you relive it a little bit,” he says. “It just prolongs the agony.”
Aron says he's in constant contact with a member of the Crown who relays information for him as it’s too expensive to fly back and forth to B.C.
“I am saving that money, and some of the money from the GoFundMe for the upcoming trial,” says Aron.
Back in June, Aron said his daughter was inside a Port Kells house when a person broke in, resulting in her death.
“Our hearts are broken and we want answers,” said Aron.
Surrey RCMP responded to the residence at 10 p.m. and found the 30-year-old suffering life-threatening injuries. She died in the hospital.
Officers and the Lower Mainland Integrated Police Dog Service arrested a man in the area.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team investigated Dunn’s death and a suspect remained in custody on an unrelated charge.
Dunn was a young entrepreneur and owned her own landscaping business that she built from scratch.
“She was living her best life, she was in love, she was an avid outdoors person, she was healthy,” says Aron. “This could have happened to anybody's daughter.”
Aron said Friday that he's struggling with the senseless death of his daughter.
“It’s not easy to deal with. I see a counsellor weekly, I am working through some grief,” he says. “It’s especially hard to lose a child.”
He tells Glacier Media he gets some relief from talking to Dunn's friends.
"That's helpful for me to reach out to her friends and have them reach out to me. I find that helpful,” he says.
Legal system review petition
Meanwhile, Dunn’s family members have created an online petition calling for an internal review of B.C.’s legal system.
Dunn's cousin created the petition on July 3 and is demanding answers and accountability.
"Despite Mann's clear disregard for the law, his heinous criminal history, and his unstable living conditions, the judicial system still saw fit to release him back into society,” Chasity Dunn said, adding that “inadequate monitoring and evaluative measures of the potential harm associated with Mann were detrimental oversights that culminated in Tori Dunn's tragic death.”
"Tori fell victim to a brutal and horrifying crime,” she says.
The family is questioning how was it decided that Mann was released, to avoid something similar from happening in the future.
"We beg you to remember Tori Dunn — remember her life that was so needlessly and cruelly cut short, and remember the failings that led to her untimely demise,” says Chasity.
She hopes the petition will implore the legal system to undertake a comprehensive internal review of the decisions and legal procedures leading up to the tragedy.
Their goal is to collect 200 signatures. As of Nov. 15, it had 5,987 signatures.
With files from Victoria Times Colonist
