A Toronto man facing second-degree murder charges in the death of his neighbour in Liberty Village testified in court Friday that he had nothing to do with the man’s death in the summer of 2023.
The decomposing body of Toronto filmmaker Reeyaz Habib was found wrapped up in blankets and duct tape in the trash compactor of a townhouse complex on Western Battery Road on June 8, 2023.
Weeks later, Khoa Tran of Toronto, who lived in the unit below Habib, was arrested and initially charged with indignity to a human body and obstruction of justice. The charge was soon upgraded to second-degree murder. His wife, Quynh (Isabelle) Nguyen, is charged with being an accessory after the fact and doing an indignity to the body.
On Friday, Tran detailed his relationship with Habib at the time of his death as contentious, even though they were friendly for the first few years they lived there.
He told the court they often chatted and shared beers, but in the spring of 2023, the relationship turned hostile. He claimed Habib suddenly became irritated by wafting smoke from his charcoal barbecue, and despite several attempts to resolve the issue, Habib was not receptive
During their last interaction, Tran described Habib’s behaviour as unusual. He told the jury Habib was threatening to get him and his wife kicked out of the neighbourhood. He also described him as pale, angry and unhealthy.
On the night of Habib’s death on June 6, 2023, Tran said he was working late and was lying in a chair, resting his eyes, when he heard screams coming from upstairs. He was jolted awake, he told the jury, and heard footsteps as if someone was running around.
“Then I heard what sounded like someone falling down the stairs and then silence,” he said.
Tran claimed he then looked out the window, and the neighbourhood was calm – he saw no one and heard nothing else.
Shortly before Habib’s body was found, Tran was caught on camera throwing Habib’s bike in the garbage. Tran admitted that the timing looked suspicious, but the move was in response to their heated argument about the barbecue a few days earlier, and acknowledged it was a petty move he regrets.
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Earlier this month, the jury heard from a woman who was living with Tran and Nguyen at the time of Habib’s death. She testified that the couple repeatedly told her not to talk to the police about anything she saw or heard that night, and she was asked to “just keep silent.”
Lin Hua told the court she felt “weird” about their request at the time but agreed because she had “no choice” since she was living under their roof and had nowhere else to go.
Both Tran and his wife have pleaded not guilty to the charges laid against them. The trial will enter its fourth week as it continues on Monday.