Addison an ‘excellent employee’ before suddenly quitting Ladysmith mill

Addison was employed for approximately eight months when one Monday morning he suddenly failed to show up for work, said Chrystal. The date was February 3, 2014, and there was no notice he would be gone and no phone call.

“Kevin hadn’t missed much work. When he was sick it was legitimate, backed up by a doctor’s note. It was out of character for him to not to show up for work and it was out of character, at least in my opinion, for him to not phone in and explain where he was,” Chrystal testified.

It was so out of character that by Wednesday, when Addison did not show for a third day and his phone went unanswered, Chrystal said he decided to visit his house on Kennedy Street to check on him. Ladysmith mill superintendent Kelly Mann accompanied.

When Addison answered the door he looked surprised, said Chrystal, and shut the door behind him as he came out onto the porch.

The three had what Chrystal referred to as an “orderly chat,” in which he asked Addison why he wasn’t at work.

“He waffled a bit and had a non-answer. He went on to just talk briefly about, ‘It’s not about Ladysmith, it’s not about the Ladysmith employees, it’s not about Ladysmith managers, it’s not about anything at Ladysmith. But Western f*cked me over and I can’t work there,’” said Chrystal.

When asked to elaborate on what happened, Addison said that when the Nanaimo mill reopened in 2010, he expected to be called back to work but they started up with less employees and decided to go with a millwright who could oil, as opposed to an oiler, said Chrystal.

Chrystal said he implored Addison to come back to work, to think of his teenage daughter, and then offered him help through their family assistance program.

Addison thanked him, refused the offer and quit on the spot, said Chrystal, adding that throughout the conversation Addison appeared to be calm, stable and in a relatively good mood.

“I told him, ‘You’re making a wrong choice so I’m not accepting your resignation,’” and gave him the weekend to think his decision over, said Chrystal. Undaunted, over the next two days Chrystal said he arranged for two more teams of people to visit Addison’s house in an attempt to change his mind, but from what he understands they received a similar response.

Addison, who also worked at the Nanaimo mill, is on trial for two counts of first degree murder and two charges of attempted murder.

Mill employees Michael Lunn and Fred McEachern died in the April 30, 2014 attack. Tony Sudar was shot in the right cheek and survived, while Earl Kelly was shot in the lower back and also lived.

There was some discomfort in the courtroom Tuesday as family, friends and jurors heard details of both men’s deaths, some for the first time, from the forensic pathologist who performed autopsies on Lunn and McEachern.

Both men likely died from a single shotgun wound, according to Dr. Dan Straathof, though different types of ammunition were used.

It was a shotgun slug that entered the back of Lunn’s upper right arm and damaged both lungs and the vertebral column, said Straathof, who delivered his testimony in a steady, quiet voice. However he said McEachern’s shotgun wound was caused by pellets that blew a 8 x 3 cm hole through the right side of his ribcage and did considerable damage to his liver and right kidney, among other organs.

“In this case, instead of a single projectile, there were 12 shotgun pellets that entered the body and these were recovered from under the skin, and from the breastbone of the lower chest and upper abdomen,” Straathof said.

Production coordinator Earl Kelly also testified Tuesday that he saw the barrel of a gun in the doorway of his mill office, heard a shot and then saw McEachern collapse to the floor on his hands and knees.

As he ducked for cover, Kelly said he was then shot in the right side of his lower back. As he attempted to assess his injuries, Kelly said he watched McEachern rise to his feet, hoist a wooden-framed chair over his head and exit the office.

Mill manager Andrew Vanger testified Friday that the shooter was pushed up against a cubicle wall when McEachern approached from behind and hit the man over the head, after which they both pinned him under the chair.

Kelly survived, but six of the nine shotgun pellets that entered his body remain inside of him. He wears the other three pellets, which were removed both surgically and naturally, on a gold chain around his neck.

by Julie Chadwick

Addison an ‘excellent employee’ before suddenly quitting Ladysmith mill

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