In a Windsor courthouse, the intensely scrutinized terrorism trial of Nathaniel Veltman, aged 22, resumed this past Tuesday. Veltman stands before the court, his plea declaring a not guilty stance on charges of four counts of terrorism-incited first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder with the same motive. These charges are related to the tragic events of June 6, 2021, which claimed the lives of four members of the Afzaal family and left another grievously injured.
Already, Veltman has openly conceded to the court that he mercilessly steered a pickup truck into the family at the crossroads of Hyde Park Road and South Carriage Road, a direct, self-acknowledged act of brutality.
Sgt. Liyu Guan stepped into focus at Tuesday’s trial, a digital forensic examiner associated with the Windsor Police Service. His particular skill set was called upon to sift through five distinctive devices procured from Veltman’s downtown apartment by the London Police Service. These digital portals into Veltman’s world included a cellphone, laptop, external hard drive and a pair of USB thumb drives.
In responding to the requests of the court, Sgt. Guan broke down his duties into three major facets:
Firstly, verify the authentic ownership of the devices;
Secondly, document all relevant evidence through screenshots;
Lastly, subject five individual files, found on the devices, to a rigorous examination.Interestingly enough, Guan testified that during this process, he had no additional details related to the ongoing investigation and was completely unaware of the suspect’s identity.
Two separate email addresses pertaining to Veltman led Guan to unearth the ‘Nate’ user account—the sole account, as it turned out, on the laptop. A visit to the laptop’s recycle bin revealed a quintet of files. Federal prosecutor Sarah Shaikh informed the jury that one of these files was a “shooting video,” which was opened and viewed on eight separate occasions, a fact deduced from Guan’s testimony.
The most recently accessed file on the laptop’s Notepad application was mockingly titled “IDK.” According to Shaikh’s interpretation, it was an edited iteration of an original document, ominous in its intent—”The White Awakening.”
During her opening remarks to the jury back on September 11, 2023, Shaikh hinted at a future introduction of evidence pertaining to a manifesto allegedly authored by Veltman himself.
Presenting his vital findings and evidence against Veltman, Sgt. Guan is expected to persist with his court engagement on Wednesday.
