A jury found Andrew Berry guilty on Thursday in the killing of his two young daughters on Christmas Day 2017, Canada’s Global News reported.
The jury in the Vancouver, British Columbia, case deliberated for 18 hours before returning the two guilty verdicts on counts of second degree murder.
Berry was found in the bathtub with several stab wounds on December 25, 2017. Six-year-old Chloe and four-year-old Aubrey Berry were found stabbed to death in their beds. But prosecutors believed Berry had stabbed himself and killed his daughters over a gambling addiction he feared would cost him custody of the girls.
CrimeOnline reported at the time that Berry and his ex-partner, Sarah Cotton, had battled in court over the father’s overdue child support payments and that Cotton had raised concerns in court about Berry’s fitness as a parent. In 2013, after Berry allegedly attacked her, pinning her to a bed, he was arrested and Cotton was granted a restraining order against him.
Cotton called police after Berry failed to return the children from a scheduled visit.
Berry had pleaded not guilty, instead claiming that he was attacked and the girls killed by someone connected to loan shark named “Paul.”
Berry faces a mandatory life sentence in the case, and he would be eligible for parole after 10 years.
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[Feature image: Family Handout/Chloe and Aubrey Berry]
