Mandi Gray Breaks Down in Court While Describing Her Friend’s Declining Health

Academic Mandi Gray became visibly emotional while testifying Monday in B.C. Supreme Court about the recent health of a friend and fellow defendant, a former University of British Columbia graduate student involved in the legal dispute surrounding professor and author Steven Galloway. Gray began to describe what she had noticed as the trial approached, but her account was interrupted by tears. Justice Neena Sharma offered her the chance to pause. Gray chose to continue, though she again struggled to speak as she described how difficult it had been to watch her friend’s condition worsen. The moment came during testimony about the former student, who made allegations against Galloway that the article characterizes as unsubstantiated. Gray’s words focused on her friend’s apparent deterioration in the lead-up to the proceedings, rather than on the details of the allegations themselves. The headline also points to a dispute over the contents of a 2017 Christie Blatchford column. According to the article, the defendant’s account of what the column said contradicted an earlier version of events. The excerpt does not provide the competing accounts or further detail about that disagreement. Gray’s testimony offered an emotional glimpse of the strain surrounding the case, as she tried to speak about a close friend while the court heard evidence in a closely watched legal dispute. The article does not report a ruling on the disagreement over the column or explain what effect Gray’s testimony may have on the proceedings.