For the second time in as many days, a teen witness testifying at a Halifax murder trial has recanted statements about what happened immediately before a 16-year-old student was fatally stabbed last year.
The 14-year-old witness initially told youth court today that he saw the 17-year-old accused pull out a knife and then drop its sheath minutes before Ahmad Maher Al Marrach was stabbed during a fight inside a parking garage near the Halifax Shopping Centre.
The witness, whose identity is protected from publication, said he was worried he would get stabbed as the accused picked up the sheath.
The Crown and defence agree that the accused did not stab Al Marrach, but the Crown argues he is guilty of second-degree murder because he planned a group assault that he knew could lead to Al Marrach’s April 22 death.
As for the young witness, he said he was wrong about who was carrying the knife after he was shown two videos in court, one from a surveillance camera in the parkade and the other from a cellphone carried by one of the teens involved in the fight.
The witness, who is in Grade 9, told the court that the person with the knife was actually another boy among the crowd of young people who gathered to watch the fight.
On Monday, a 15-year-old witness told the court that the accused had threatened him with a knife and had run towards him during the fight.
Under cross-examination, the 15-year-old witness said none of that happened after a lawyer for the accused showed him the surveillance video and informed the court about his contradictory statement to police.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 14, 2024.