Defence lawyer James Pennington asked the jury in the second-degree murder trial of Grace Robotti to think about two things when deliberating the fate of his client: self-defence and provocation.
67-year-old Robotti is on trial for killing her great-grandson's mother, 26-year-old Roxanne Louie, in her Penticton house in 2015.
Both the defence and crown gave their closing submissions on Wednesday.
Pennington told the jury that Robotti was defending herself when she and Louie got into a physical fight on January 4, 2015, and that she never intended to kill Louie.
He argued Robotti was provoked after Louie picked up a crowbar she had thrown in Robotti’s direction.
“Place yourself in the shoes of Ms.Robotti for a moment,” Pennington told the jury “and the situation is this: you have a woman, who is in her mid-60’s, being confronted by an armed and aggressive woman in her mid-20’s”
Pennington also defended Robotti’s attempts to cover-up the murder, telling the jury she only did so to protect her great-grandson, Louie’s son, who was sleeping in another room.
Crown prosecutor Mallory Treddenick, however, suggested to the jury that Robotti’s version of events should be doubted.
“When Ms. Robotti was being cross examined, her answers were often non-responsive to the questions,” Treddenick said “I suggest that she was frequently evasive and defensive, she would prove either self-serving testimony or testimony unrelated to the question”
Treddenick argued that Robotti wasn't provoked or defending herself when delivering the fatal blows to Louie’s head.
“What does the number of injuries, the location of injuries and the severity of the injuries, tell you about what was actually in Ms. Robotti’s mind when she struck Roxanne with a crowbar?” Treddenick asked the jury.
Testimony given during the trial showed Louie had been hit 26 times.
Treddenick told the jury that the force used by Robotti was “excessive and unreasonable” arguing that her actions during the incident fail to pass the test for a defence of self-defence or provocation.
The jury of 5 women and 7 men will begin deliberating Robotti's fate on Thursday.