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CBC
10 hours ago
- CBC
Prosecutors press Chau Lam on her mother's killing
Crown prosecutors spent the better part of two days this week pressing Chau Lam about the 2022 killing of her 88-year-old mother. Chau Lam, 59, and her sister Hue Lam, 62, each pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the October 2022 death of their mother, Kieu Lam. The jury trial began earlier this month in the Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa. Testifying in Vietnamese through a translator, Chau Lam began her testimony earlier this week by telling the court she loved her mother — and that she killed her. "I was scared my mother would hit my sister to death, she would hit me to death," she said. "Sometimes she just used a stick to hit us in the head. We had to protect ourselves." Since their arrest, the sisters have said they endured years of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of their mother. During Chau Lam's testimony, the court heard about her mother's history of medical issues, including a fractured hip and shoulder, and repeated visits to doctors and hospitals in the years leading up to her death. Chau Lam told the jury her mother never directly threatened to kill them, but said the violence had been escalating before the killing. Under cross-examination, Chau Lam could not point to any specific serious assaults or injuries inflicted by her mother. She also agreed there were no defensive wounds on her body when she was arrested. Prosecutors challenged the defence's argument the sisters were under their mother's control, noting that one held a job, they attended temple and both had taken English classes. The Crown has argued Kieu Lam gave life to her daughters, only to have hers taken. Prosecutors previously told the jury the woman was "sleeping defenceless" in bed when the sisters smashed her head with a hammer and strangled her. Chau Lam acknowledged that she was "angry" at the time of the killing — as she told police following her arrest. Difficult testimony The court recessed several times Thursday and Friday as Chau Lam became emotional under questioning. At one point, she broke down while describing how the abuse worsened after her sister was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. "I'm a human being. I know what is right and what is wrong," she said. "It's not that my mom just scolded us a few times and then we would get upset and kill our mom," she added, saying if her mom had given them "a little bit of love" they would be content. As testimony continued, Chau at one point Thursday said she could no longer go on. "No matter how many times, you will not understand," she told the court. "I will now stop talking. The more I talk, the more it looks like I tried to blame my mom, so I [will] stop talking." Court was adjourned for the day. It resumed Friday with further cross-examination focused on the condition of the victim, who was 88 years old and used a walker. After 16 minutes of questioning, Chau again became emotional and another break was required. She told the jury: "The more people talk, people say that I try to blame my mom. My mom's already dead. If my mom was still alive, then I am not sitting here."
CBC
2 days ago
- CBC
Chau Lam details years of abuse before mother's killing
Testifying at her murder trial Wednesday, Chau Lam sobbed as she described how her 88-year-old mother dug her fingernails into her forehead while she tried to trim them for her. "She scolded me and then she put her nail to the middle of my forehead," Lam told the court. Chau Lam, 59, and her sister Hue Lam, 62, have each pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the October 2022 death of their mother, Kieu Lam. The jury trial began earlier this month in the Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa. Lam's testimony, translated from Vietnamese, began with her admitting to loving her mother, but also to killing her. That set the tone for a long, emotional day of testimony in front of jurors as Lam recounted numerous instances when her mother scolded and attacked her. "Sometimes for no reason, mother scolded or hit us," she testified. The sisters have said they suffered through years of abuse at the hands of their mother, and Lam described the constant attacks to being stabbed. "It felt like mom had a knife and she would pull it out and slap me, and pull it out and slap me again," she said. During her testimony, Lam said there was no affection in the home where "mom did not allow" the sisters to learn English and prevented them from having a social life. "Mother was never home alone, I was always there with her," Lam said. Lam said the abuse got worse after her older sister was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and their mother returned home from a failed attempt to place her in a nursing home. She said Kieu Lam required constant attention, and the sisters did all the cooking and cleaning. She described the household as "like a funeral home." Lam said they did not want to tell police nor anyone else about the abuse because they feared their mother would "beat the both of us to death" if she found out. In the week leading up the the killing, Lam said she and her sister were being abused daily. Crown disputes sisters' account Prosecutors have argued Kieu Lam gave the sisters life, only to have hers taken. They have previously described the older woman as "sleeping defenceless" in bed when the sisters smashed her head with a hammer and strangled her. The Crown pointed to the mother's age and weakness to argue that she posed no physical threat to her daughters, and noted they were largely free to leave the house for work, appointments and temple. Two of Kieu Lam's sons testified earlier this week that their sisters had endured years of verbal and physical abuse. On Monday, Chanh Hyunh, 64, told the jury he had heard his mother verbally abuse his sisters, and repeated what he had previously told police after her death — that their mother was "the evil one." He admitted however that he had seen their mother physically assault his sisters only once in 30 years, and had not witnessed verbal abuse beyond what was described in court as "nagging." Earlier in the trial, the jury saw video interviews recorded with both sisters hours after their mother's death. In the interviews, conducted at Ottawa police headquarters on Oct. 31, 2022, they admitted to killing their mother as she slept. One sister also told a 911 dispatcher and responding officers what they had done. The sisters said in the recordings that they were "so angry" after years of emotional and physical abuse.
CBC
3 days ago
- CBC
Brothers testify sisters accused of killing mother suffered years of abuse
Two brothers of two women on trial for killing their 88-year-old mother testified this week that their sisters were longtime victims of verbal and physical abuse, and likely acted in self-defence. Chau Lam, 59, and Hue Lam, 62, have each pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of their mother, Kieu Lam. The jury trial began earlier this month in the Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa. On Monday, their 64-year-old brother, Chahn Hyunh, testified he was well aware of the difficult situation his sisters were in, living alone with their mother decades after the family came to Canada from Vietnam. "I strongly felt they should not be living together," he told the court, recounting a failed attempt to place their mother in a nursing home. "Things were getting too serious." Hyunh told the jury he had heard his mother verbally abuse his sisters, and repeated what he had previously told police after her death — that their mother was "the evil one." The defence argues the sisters were afraid for their safety after years of alleged abuse. During his testimony, Hyunh read aloud what was described in court as a suicide note written by Hue Lam to her sister after their mother's death. "Little sister, thank you for taking care of me and I wish we would be sisters again. I'm leaving now.… I'm sorry I have to leave you but I have no choice," the note read, as translated by Hyunh. 'I definitely would have stopped it' Under cross-examination, Hyunh called a Crown question about his time in a refugee camp "bullshit." He later apologized to the court, explaining he was under stress. He told the jury he did not know his sisters planned to kill their mother. "Had I known, I definitely would have stopped it," he said. The Crown pointed out that Hyunh had advised his sisters to leave the home. He admitted he had seen their mother physically assault them only once in 30 years and had not witnessed verbal abuse beyond what he described as "nagging." On Tuesday, another brother, Minh Hyunh, offered further details of life inside the family home. The older brother told the court that after he moved out, bringing his mother with him to his new home wasn't an option due to her behaviour, and because his wife was not comfortable with her moving in. He testified their mother had maintained control over the sisters when they lived in Vietnam and that she used violence, including hitting them with objects. The behaviour continued after the familt moved to Canada, according to the brothers. Mother 'didn't change' after arrival in Canada Minh Hyunh said he lived with his mother and sisters for about a decade starting in 1992. Though he worked outside the home, he said he witnessed frequent outbursts from his mother including screaming and scolding over small matters. He said their mother would belittle them for not being married and often became angry without warning. "She didn't change when she came to Canada," he said, describing how the sisters did all the chores and cared for their mother, who did not speak English. He told police he believed his sisters were "very scared" of their mother and said she "liked to be in control of everything." He described feeling "stiff," "weakened" and "paralyzed" around her, and said the entire family "suffered" from her behaviour. He recalled an incident about a month before her death when he rushed over after getting a call from the sisters and found one of them restraining the mother from hitting them. Earlier in the trial, the jury saw video interviews recorded with both sisters hours after their mother's death. In the interviews, conducted at Ottawa police headquarters on Oct. 31, 2022, the sisters admitted to killing their mother as she slept. One of the sisters also told a 911 dispatcher and responding police officers what they had done. The sisters told investigators they were "so angry" after years of emotional and physical abuse. The only significant difference in the sisters' statements to police was about their remaining family: When asked if they had any, Chau Lam said no.
CBC
20-06-2025
- CBC
'Control, violence and cruelty': Sisters killed mother to end decades-long abuse, defence argues
Social Sharing The Crown opened its case two weeks ago telling the jury that Kieu Lam gave her daughters life, and they took hers when they killed her as she lay in her bed three years ago. The defence opened its case Friday admitting — as sisters Chau and Hue Lam have since the night it happened — that yes, they killed her, but Kieu Lam had never given her daughters a real life to speak of. Instead, the life they knew was one of "isolation ... devoid of love, compassion and protection, and filled with control, violence and cruelty," Chau Lam's layer Ewan Lyttle told the jury. Kieu Lam was ashamed that her daughters weren't married and sometimes couldn't work. She verbally and physically abused them, and that abuse got worse after Hue Lam developed Parkinson's disease, Lyttle said. The week before the killing, the severity of the abuse "further escalated significantly." And out of fear for their safety, they killed their mother to end it. The sisters have each pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in Ottawa's Superior Court of Justice. The Crown closed its case first thing Friday after formally entering two final exhibits, including Hue Lam's video interview with the homicide's lead investigator. (Both sisters were interviewed, and both interviews were played in court in their entirety earlier this week). Didn't go to police Chau Lam will testify, and explain why she and her sister stayed with their abusive mother and didn't go to police, Lyttle said. He warned the jury that her explanation might be hard to understand for anyone not raised under the pressure of their family's practices and norms, or anyone who hasn't been subjected to decades of abuse from a parent. "But we hope the evidence you hear will help you understand," he said. That evidence is expected to come from Chau Lam as well as her older brothers. The trial resumes Monday with the defence's first witnesses. Chau Lam is being represented by Lyttle and Brett McGarry. Hue Lam is representing herself, and the court has appointed defence lawyer Paolo Giancaterino to act an amicus curiae, or friend of the court, to ensure she gets a fair trial.
CBC
18-06-2025
- CBC
'Many years. Many beatings': Sisters confess to killing mother in videos played at trial
In separate, remarkably candid interviews with homicide investigators just hours after their mother was found dead, two sisters confessed to attacking her as she slept and killing her because they were "so angry" following years of emotional and physical abuse. The admissions were made in videotaped interviews at Ottawa police headquarters on Elgin Street on Oct. 31, 2022, hours after one of the women called 911 and told a dispatcher and arriving officers what they had done. Both interviews were played in court this week, and in them the two women — Chau Lam, then 56, and Hue Lam, then 59 — appeared to be wearing the same puffy winter jackets they've been wearing each day since their trial started last week (navy blue for Chau, black for Hue). Chau Lam, now 59, and Hue Lam, now 62, have both pleaded not guilty in Superior Court in Ottawa to first-degree murder in the killing of their mother Kieu Lam, who was 88. The family came to Ottawa in 1992, and the sisters had lived with their mother since then. In one of the interviews, Hue Lam told lead investigator Det. Guy Seguin through a Vietnamese-language translator that ever since the girls were little, their mother Kieu Lam was controlling and had a "hot temper." She couldn't speak, read or write in English, couldn't be left alone and wouldn't let them go out. 'There was pressure on me for many years' Hue Lam said their mother's behaviour became more difficult about four or five years before the killing when she fell and broke her arm and hip, and stopped going out at all. Sometimes she yelled so much that the sisters went into the bathroom to try to sleep, but they couldn't get away from her there either because none of the doors had locks. "Very horrible. Crazy, crazy," Hue Lam said. "So she was very abusive," Seguin replied. "Yes, correct." Hue Lam wasn't able to work and wasn't married. Wiping tears from her face, she said her mother "cursed" her for that. "There was pressure on me for many years," Hue Lam said through the translator. It came to a head the previous Monday, a week earlier, when Kieu Lam yelled at her, beat her and pulled her hair, she said. The sisters later made a plan to kill their mother if she kept yelling and cursing them. 'She knows my sister is sick, but she beat her' After they covered the details of the killing, which involved a hammer and a piece of string made from a curtain, Seguin asked if they have any other siblings. Hue Lam said she had an older brother with a different last name. "Not close. Not close at all," she said of their relationship. Seguin suggested it would be good for police to tell the brother what happened, so he won't have to find out through media reports. "No, let him know through the news. If I don't like to talk to my brother, he has no right to talk, to speak," she said through the translator. In a separate interview with now retired Det.-Sgt. Dan Brennan, Chau Lam corroborated the details her sister provided. Chau Lam confirmed Hue Lam had health problems and couldn't work, and that their mother called it "a shameful thing ... that makes people laugh at her," she said through the translator. "The old lady, she knows my sister is sick, but she beat her, she beat her a lot." 'Thank you for being very honest' The interview then turned to how the sisters planned to kill their mother, and the killing itself. "Thank you for being very honest. I know this is very difficult, and I can see you're in a lot of pain right now," Brennan said. "Many years. Many beatings," Chau Lam replied. Later, near the end of the interview, Brennan asked if she has anything else to say or questions to ask, and she motioned no. "You committed a crime," Brennan says, and Chau Lam nodded. "And you're going to be charged with first-degree murder. It is the most serious crime in Canada.... This is a long process, it's going to be very stressful, so I wish you luck." The only divergence in the sisters' stories was about their relatives. When asked by Brennan if they had any other family, Chau Lam said no. "No brothers or sisters?" Brennan asks. Chau subtly and briefly shook her head. The trial continues.
