A jury found the man accused of killing a woman during a home invasion in Surrey guilty of second-degree murder on Wednesday night. The verdict came after closing arguments wrapped up in the evening. Adam Mann, 42, was accused of stabbing Tori Dunn with a kitchen knife in her home in the Port Kells neighbourhood on June 16, 2024. She was declared deceased at Royal Columbian Hospital less than an hour later. During trial, the jury was shown surveillance videos of Mann walking around in the neighbourhood before and after the stabbing. One shows him removing a grey sweatshirt in the minutes after police received the 911 call. Police later found a grey sweatshirt, a large kitchen knife and Dunn’s cellphone discarded in the area. The jury was told the victim’s blood was confirmed on the blade of the knife and her DNA was confirmed on the sleeve of the hoodie. An RCMP forensic analyst testified Mann’s DNA was a match to samples found on the knife’s handle, the neckline of the hoodie and on Dunn’s cellphone. Mann pleaded not guilty and testified on his own behalf during the trial. He told the court he got off a bus in the neighbourhood because he was in an altercation with a passenger and discarded the hoodie because he feared police were looking for him. He testified he found the kitchen knife and Dunn’s phone while wandering the area and tossed both away. The Crown told the jury Mann’s evidence was not believable and they should reject almost all of it. Hours after the 12-person jury began deliberation, they delivered the guilty verdict. “It’s a relief. It’s been a long road and we’re pleased,” John Wace, the father of Dunn’s boyfriend, told CTV News after the ruling. Dunn’s family and friends have packed the courtroom for every day of the trial. “We’ll wait until sentencing to see how we feel about justice, but for now we’re happy with the jury’s decision,” Wace said. Mann will be sentenced to life in prison, but a judge will need to decide when he will become eligible for parole. With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Ben Miljure
