A Vancouver Provincial Court judge told the man accused of fatally stabbing Tori Dunn in her Surrey home last June that he needs to get a lawyer.
Adam Troy Mann of Ontario has been charged with one count of second-degree murder.
He appeared before Judge Harbans Dhillon Wednesday on two robbery charges. Mann complained he can’t make any decisions on a lawyer without disclosure on the file.
Dhillon directed Crown prosecutor Ron Edwards to ensure Mann gets the case disclosure. Edwards said he would but noted disclosure had already been provided to Man’s previous lawyer.
“I need to review disclosure before making any decisions,” Mann told Dhillon as he appeared by video.
Mann previously appeared before Vancouver Provincial Court Judge Adrian Brooks on Nov. 17 on two robbery charges.
However, as soon as the case was called, defence lawyer Ben Lynskey applied to be removed as counsel.
“Do you intend to get a new lawyer?” Brooks asked Mann last fall.
“Yes, I am,” Mann said. “I’ve never had the opportunity to review disclosure at all.”
Crown prosecutor Justine Jarvis said evidence disclosure had been provided and that if he gets a new lawyer, disclosure would be provided to that person as well.
Mann reiterated he hadn’t received disclosure for any files before the courts.
Mann appeared on the murder charge Wednesday.
Dhillon said the case was to be adjourned to Jan. 31 in Surrey Provincial Court.
As he exited the video appearance room, Mann made a peace sign at the camera.
Charges Mann faces
Mann is charged with theft under $5,000 in connection with a merchandise theft from a Lululemon store in Richmond on Feb. 19, 2024.
He faces the same charge in connection with the theft of a purse and its contents from a woman in Vancouver on Jan. 15, 2024. For the same day, he faces a charge of possessing bear spray for a purpose dangerous to the public peace or for the purpose of committing a criminal offence.
Also for last January, Mann is charged with uttering a threat to cause death or bodily harm to a man in Vancouver. For that same day, Mann is charged with resisting or obstructing a police officer.
The charges he appeared before Brooks last November are in connection with two April 25 alleged robberies of people in Vancouver.
On a separate Surrey case, Mann is charged with the May 26 aggravated assault of a woman in that city.
Mann is further charged with violating a probation order for allegedly possessing knives on May 28.
Finally, there is a murder charge.
At the time of Dunn’s June 16 death, Mann was on bail despite facing criminal charges for an unrelated robbery. That was despite having “barely missed the criteria for being diagnosed as a psychopath,” according to his parole record, the Victoria Times Colonist reported.
Surrey RCMP responded to the residence at 10 p.m. and found the 30-year-old suffering life-threatening injuries. She died in the hospital.
Officers and the Lower Mainland Integrated Police Dog Service arrested a man in the area.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team investigated Dunn’s death and a suspect remained in custody on an unrelated charge.
Dunn was a young entrepreneur and owned her own landscaping business that she built from scratch.
“She was living her best life, she was in love, she was an avid outdoors person, she was healthy,” father Aron Dunn has told Glacier Media. “This could have happened to anybody's daughter.”
“It’s not easy to deal with. I see a counsellor weekly, I am working through some grief,” he said. “It’s especially hard to lose a child.”
He said he gets some relief from talking to Dunn's friends.
"That's helpful for me to reach out to her friends and have them reach out to me. I find that helpful,” he says.
Legal system review petition
Meanwhile, Dunn’s family members have created an online petition calling for an internal review of B.C.’s legal system.
Dunn's cousin created the petition last July, and is demanding answers and accountability.
"Despite Mann's clear disregard for the law, his heinous criminal history and his unstable living conditions, the judicial system still saw fit to release him back into society,” Chasity Dunn said, adding that “inadequate monitoring and evaluative measures of the potential harm associated with Mann were detrimental oversights that culminated in Tori Dunn's tragic death.”
"Tori fell victim to a brutal and horrifying crime,” she said.
The family is questioning how Mann’s previous release had been determined, to avoid something similar from happening in the future.
"We beg you to remember Tori Dunn — remember her life that was so needlessly and cruelly cut short, and remember the failings that led to her untimely demise,” said Chasity.
She hopes the petition will implore the legal system to undertake a comprehensive internal review of the decisions and legal procedures leading up to the tragedy.
