LONDON, Ont. — A man on trial for murdering and dismembering his friend at a southwestern Ontario hotel in 2013 says he killed one of his very best friends.
James McCullough, 22, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and offering an indignity to a dead body in 20-year-old Alex Fraser's death.
McCullough is testifying in his own defence in a London, Ont., courtroom today, offering his version of what took place in September 2013.
He says Fraser was "a great guy, an intelligent guy, a computer whiz" and says they used to drink and do drugs together.
McCullough's lawyer has told the jury that her client's testimony will provide them with evidence about what happened in the hotel room shared by the two friends the day Fraser died.
Fraser's body parts were found in two hockey bags in the hotel room after McCullough was arrested by police.
The trial has heard that Fraser and McCullough took a cab from Orangeville, Ont., where they lived, to London late on a Saturday night, with Fraser clearly intoxicated at the time.
The jury has heard that the men checked into a Travelodge, where McCullough gave a fake name, a fake address and paid for the room in cash. He later asked to extend his stay and emphasized that he did not want any housekeeping.
The trial heard that later on the Sunday, two young men visited McCullough in the hotel room where they saw two hockey style bags in the room, which McCullough told them not to touch.
Court has heard that McCullough tried to get one of the men to drive him to northern Ontario and then told the men he had "done something terrible.''
He first told them he had robbed a government building and had thousands of dollars of stolen property in the bags in the room, the trial heard.
He then told them he had robbed the government building with a gang member from Toronto and they had killed someone in the process, cut up the person's body and put some of the body parts in the bags that were in the room, court heard.
McCullough called 911 himself later that day, saying repeatedly "someone is dead and I am unarmed.''
