Calgary murder suspect Alex (Aixin) Xu repeatedly confessed to killing his mother while still covered in her blood, a city jury was told on Monday. In his opening address to a 13-member Court of King's Bench jury, Crown prosecutor Paul Marcellus detailed how Xu bludgeoned his mother Alice (Jingying) Ai with a rock in the dark space between two homes near the Foothills Medical Centre.
Xu's parents had taken him to the hospital in the early morning hours of June 30, 2023, because his mother was concerned about him and the then-20-year-old admitted consuming LSD. While in the waiting room, Xu decided he no longer wanted to stay and security camera video showed him and his mother walking away with his father following briefly, before going to the parkade, Marcellus said.
“You see the accused again (on the CCTV camera) less than 20 minutes later now alone and covered in his mother’s blood,” the prosecutor said. “The evidence you will hear in the coming weeks is a simple story of a tragic murder.” Xu is charged with second-degree murder in Ai's death.
Marcellus said the victim was assaulted between two homes on 29th Street N.W. “The accused bludgeoned his mom with a boulder, leaving her face down in a pool of her own blood,” he said. “Shortly after, still covered in his mother’s blood, the accused confessed to his mother’s murder.”
Marcellus told jurors that Xu tried flagging down traffic, initially getting the attention of an Uber driver who he asked to call 911. “The accused walked towards (the driver) and told him ‘I just murdered my mom and I need you to call 911,’” the prosecutor said. A second motorist also stopped. “The accused very calmly approached (him) and asked him to call the police because he had just murdered his mom with a boulder.”
While that witness was on the phone to emergency services, Xu took the phone from him and spoke to the operator “at which time he clearly and coherently confessed he murdered his mother,” Marcellus said. When the first police officer arrived on scene, Xu continued to profess his guilt. “The accused walked straight towards the officer and pointed in the direction of the houses where police later found his mom and said: ‘I just murdered my mom.’”
After a short search, officers found the deceased where Xu indicated she would be, not breathing, with “an open wound to the back of her head.” The trial is scheduled for five weeks.
