Closing arguments in the Suarez Noa murder trial

Warning this story contains disturbing issues and images

Wednesday a Hamilton jury will start deciding whether Haiden Suarez Noa is guilty of murder or manslaughter in the stabbing death of his then-girlfriend Tania Cowell in 2013. Today, the crown and defence lawyers submitted their final arguments.

Haiden Suarez Noa was sleep deprived when he confessed to police 24 hours after stabbing Tania Cowell to death, his lawyer said, that’s why he seems so matter-of-fact in this interview.

Charn Gill says his client is guilty of manslaughter, not murder, because he didn’t intend for her to die.

Gill told the jury Tania Cowell had been manipulative and mean towards Suarez Noa during their relationship, as evidenced by the insults in her text messages.

“His mindset had been affected by months and months of abuse by this woman.”

The couple had been fighting for 13 hours before Cowell invited Suarez Noa back home to reconcile. Suarez Noa says everything was fine until Cowell flipped like a switch, told him she was moving out and insulted him. It was a new low Suarez Noa says and he just snapped.

His lawyer asked the jury to consider, “whether Haiden reacted to Tania’s insulting words by stabbing her eleven times before there was time for the passion to cool.”

Crown Janet Booy told the jury that, “rage is not an excuse for murder.”

She said the number and the force of the knife thrusts prove Suarez Noa’s intent. The crown believes Suarez Noa chased Tania and the first stab went into her back. Then as she fell, he continued to stab her 10 more times in the chest and neck, that’s why all the blood on the walls is close to the ground and why she had no defensive wounds on her hands or arms.

“He drove that knife so deep into her back it hit her heart and so hard into her neck that it hit her vertebrae in her back. That is intent to kill,” she told the jury.

She argued that it doesn’t make sense Suarez Noa just happened to have the long knife in his hand when the fight started; most people don’t choose a knife before looking for sandwich ingredients.

The jury will hear the end of the judge’s instructions tomorrow and then begin their deliberations.