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Langley child murder trial to conclude in January

The last witnesses are testifying this week in New Westminster
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Seven-year-old Aaliyah Rosa was found dead in an apartment in Langley in July. (Special to the Langley Advance Times)

WARNING: This story contains disturbing details

A verdict in the case against a Langley woman accused of killing her seven-year-old daughter is expected in the New Year.

The trial of KerryAnn Lewis resumed on Monday, with a judge expected to hear the remaining witnesses this week.

A police officer, a toxicologist, and store clerks who interacted with Lewis on the day of her daughter’s death are expected to testify.

Lewis is charged with first degree murder in the death of her daughter, seven-year-old Aaliyah Rosa. Aaliyah was found dead in Lewis’s Langley apartment on July 22, 2018.

At the outset of the trial, Crown counsel said they would show that Lewis sedated then and drowned Aaliyah in the apartment bathtub. Lewis has pleaded not guilty.

The trial has been delayed several times, largely due to issues with COVID-19.

Multiple witnesses have either contracted COVID or been exposed to others with COVID, requiring quarantining.

Lewis herself had health issues, and in November she suddenly collapsed in court.

READ MORE: COVID health delays won’t stop Langley murder trial

Justice Martha Devlin, hearing the case in New Westminster Supreme Court, said the court would get through the evidence no matter how long it took.

The trial has already heard from Lewis’s ex-boyfriend, Aaliyah’s father Steven Rosa, the people who discovered Aaliyah’s body, friends of Lewis, and police investigators.

Final arguments are expected by defense and prosecution lawyers in early January.



Matthew Claxton

About the Author: Matthew Claxton

Raised in Langley, as a journalist today I focus on local politics, crime and homelessness.
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