Joshua Tomlinson’s lawyer said earlier this week he’d deny being in the deceased’s home or knowing about the stabbing when he testified in his own defense at his joint Sarnia murder trial.
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That’s exactly what he did Wednesday as he finished answering questions from his lawyer and the lawyer for his co-accused starting grilling him with accusations.
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Tomlinson, 38, and Noah Brown, 31, have both pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and breaking and entering the death of Allen Schairer, a 62-year-old retiree and photographer who lived alone on Devine Street near Tecumseh Park. He was discovered in his bathtub stabbed to death on Jan. 26, 2021, after police found his car abandoned on city outskirts, the trial has heard.
At the end of his examination in chief Wednesday, Tomlinson flatly said, “No,” to a series of questions from his lawyer, Terry Brandon, about if he stabbed Schairer, knew who did, was there to see it, or even never met him.
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During cross-examination, Michael Moon, Brown’s lawyer, confronted him about his long criminal record, which includes 82 convictions for a slew of break and enters as well as some assaults and domestic violence. Tomlinson said he doesn’t like to be violent, but agreed it’s a possibility in some situations.
Moon suggested he can be violent if his wellbeing depended on it – he was previously hit in the head with a baseball bat during an attempted break and enter – and that’s why he killed Schairer.
“I did not kill anybody, sir,” Tomlinson responded as the 14-person jury watched intently.
Moon followed up by asking if he’s denying it.
“Absolutely,” he said.
Moon also accused Tomlinson of being confused about which murder he was being arrested for on Jan. 27, 2021 – the jury has heard he’s facing a second homicide charge – since he didn’t ask police who he was being accused of killing that night.
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“I can’t answer that with an answer, because I didn’t commit any murder,” he responded.
Moon also confronted him with questions about his history of lying during his cross-examination Wednesday afternoon, which drew the largest crowd the trial has seen over the past month. Tomlinson said lying is a drug addict’s first response and that’s what his reaction was 90 per cent of the time.
Tomlinson admitted to Moon he lied to his girlfriend the day Schairer died about playing poker all night and how the cut on his hand was caused by a paint putty spatula. He also admitted to lying to police when he was first arrested amid attempts of using his girlfriend as a false alibi that he was home the previous night.
But he added he was on drugs and regrets what he did. Now that he’s been sober and clearheaded for three years, he wouldn’t react that way now, he said.
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Prior to his cross-examination, which will continue Thursday, Tomlinson told Brandon about being arrested by two Sarnia police officers around 9 pm on Jan. 27, 2021, while paying for items at Milk Marc Variety.
“For a split second I thought they were just joking around,” he told the jury. “They were very serious.”
Tomlinson, who had just finished serving a two-year jail sentence months earlier, recalled nearly falling to his knees in the variety store and being almost in tears amid the arrest. Tomlinson could be heard sobbing at times on an audio recording played for the jury of his booking-in process later that night at Sarnia police headquarters.
He was also upset at times.
“I didn’t (expletive) do this (expletive),” he can be heard saying.
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The jury heard police, led by then-Det. Brian Halfpenny, told Tomlinson they were seizing his clothes for the investigation. They document each clothing item and everything else he had on him before a message is left for his lawyer, Terry Brandon, around 10:30 pm She didn’t answer the phone at the time.
Tomlinson can also be heard telling police about a cut on his left hand, a piece of evidence frequently brought up during the month-long trial. After the tape ended, Tomlinson told Brandon he was wearing different gloves the day he was arrested than the previous day.
They also went over his clothing and how long he had them – some were purchased from Walmart that day, others he had for a while – and a silver cigarette case.
“I can’t quite remember, but I had that thing for a bit I thought,” he said. “It’s been a while I can’t remember how long I had it or where I got it.”
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