A judge in St. John's has the complicated task of sifting through hours of testimony in broken English and determining if there's enough evidence to convict an Iranian engineer of trying to kill a man who has been described as his friend, coworker and possibly even his love interest.

Lawyers for the prosecution and defence gave their closing submissions Thursday in a trial where names were withheld by the media either due to court orders or at the request of worried witnesses.

As each day progressed, it became clear the trial of an Iranian engineering student in St. John's was like nothing the court had ever seen before.

"We're dealing with a different culture," defence lawyer Mark Gruchy stated simply during his closing submission Thursday morning.

Crown prosecutor Jude Hall said all the elements are there to show an engineering PhD student at Memorial University intended to kill his fellow student. (Ryan Cooke/CBC)

Prosecutor Jude Hall maintains the accused — then a 28-year-old PhD student at Memorial University — grabbed his friend and fellow PhD student on top of a steep incline at Signal Hill and tried to throw them both to their deaths.

They became tangled in the bushes a few feet down and survived with minor scratches and bruises.

Language problems

Much of Justice Vikas Khaladkar's decision will rely on text messages the accused sent to his brother before the incident.

In translations provided by Iranian linguists, the accused told his brother he was thinking of killing himself and the accused. He said he wanted to stab him. He said if he had a gun, he would kill anyone, or everyone.

Competing translations pitted two versions of those texts against each other. The prosecution's expert suggested they were meant literally. The defence's expert said they meant to convey recurring thoughts, or dreams.

As Gruchy put it, "People can have thoughts. They can have strange thoughts they don't want," and it's not illegal.

Defence lawyer Mark Gruchy argued there is a way to interpret the evidence that leaves his client innocent of any accusations. (Ryan Cooke/CBC)

But Hall maintains the texts show the accused had the foresight and intention to kill — an essential element in proving attempted murder.

Throughout the trial, witnesses testified in English despite their native language being Persian. It led to long, rambling answers and curious word choices which could affect the outcome of the case.

For example: when the complainant gave an interview to the police, he told them the accused hugged him before they went over the edge. On the stand, he said the accused grabbed him. When asked about the change of story, he said he didn't know a better English word at the time of his interview.

The accused, meanwhile, said he moved toward his friend to wrap him in a comforting embrace, but slipped and dragged him over the hill by accident.

In this case, the difference between hug and grab could be essential.

Hill or cliff?

Another issue will be whether the judge accepts the slope of the land was enough to kill someone if they fell.

On Thursday, Gruchy took exception with the Crown's use of the word "cliff," suggesting instead it was a hill.

A firefighter and high-angle rescue expert testified it was a 40-degree angle for 15 feet, before opening up to an 80-degree drop. He said it could cause broken bones or death if a person fell the entire way.

Justice Vikas Khaladkar looks out over Ladies' Lookout on Signal Hill. The location is at the centre of an attempted murder trial happening in his courtroom. (Ryan Cooke/CBC)

Khaladkar won't just have to take his word for it. The judge took a trip to Signal Hill in September to hold a session of the trial at the edge of the overhang.

It's called "taking a view," and it's extremely rare in Canadian trials. Khaladkar said it was his first field trip in his 42 years of legal experience.

In an area filled with dramatic cliffs angling down into crashing ocean waves, Gruchy argued the specific lookout was not a place you'd jump if you wanted to end it all. Hence, he doesn't believe his client intended to kill anyone.

It all adds up, prosecutor says

Hall argued everything has to be considered in totality.

The text messages, a claim he lured the complainant to the hill with the false promise of a skiing event, his actions on top of the hill — Hall said they show the intention and action is enough to prove attempted murder.

"This was a deliberate and intentional act," Hall said, adding it was "unsuccessful by good fortune only."

In a trial, a prosecutor or defence lawyer can ask the judge to take the trial outdoors to the scene of an alleged crime. In September, the attempted murder trial of an international student went to Signal Hill. (Ryan Cooke/CBC)

Gruchy said it's one of the most difficult charges to prove in Canadian law, more difficult than some forms of murder.

The evidence can be interpreted many ways — at its most innocent, it can look like a total accident, while on the other end, it can look like a botched murder-suicide.

"I have lots of homework to do," Khaladkar told the lawyers.

The judge didn't set a date for the decision, but said he will take his time and let everyone know when he's ready to rule on the future of the accused.

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