A police manhunt for Kevin Mantla ended at the Mounties' front door, where he appeared shoeless hours after the death of Elvis Lafferty, court heard Wednesday.
The trial's sixth day of testimony opened with an audio recording, presented as evidence by the Crown, of a call made by Mantla to the RCMP detachment on the morning of Sept. 28, 2015.
Police had responded to a stabbing at a Lanky Court apartment just before 1 a.m. – an incident that claimed the life of Lafferty and injured Mantla's ex-girlfriend.
Mantla, on trial for murder and attempted murder, is accused of carrying out the attack.
In the recording, Mantla can be heard asking to enter the building to stay in the “drunk tank.”
Const. Brydon Shea told court he arrived at work shortly after 7 a.m. to find Mantla sitting in the public lobby.
Shea testified he knew of the RCMP's ongoing search but didn't recognize the accused. He said Mantla told him he needed a place to stay.
Shea said he informed Mantla he couldn't put him in a cell without cause. Inquiring about Mantla's missing shoes, Shea said Mantla told him a pair of conflicting stories, first saying they were stolen and then saying he had lent them to a friend. Mantla was then detained by Shea after providing his name.
Responding to questions from Crown prosecutor Blair MacPherson, Shea said Mantla appeared “normal” and not intoxicated.
More officers soon arrived and Mantla was formally arrested by major crimes investigator Const. Alan Beaton.
Beaton was the second Crown witness to take the stand Wednesday morning.
A 10-minute video documenting Mantla's arrest by Beaton was shown to the court. In the video, a tired-looking Mantla hung his head and rubbed his eyes as Beaton read him his rights inside the detachment. Mantla nodded his head when asked if he understood he was being arrested on charges of murder and attempted murder.
When asked whether or not he wanted to call a lawyer, Mantla was heard saying, “No. I want to go to sleep.”
Beaton said he could tell Mantla “had been drinking” – he was walking slightly off-balance and slurring his speech.
Mantla could be heard, on video, saying he had been drinking “last night” and that he'd been walking around all night and sleeping on a sidewalk.
The video showed officers asking if Mantla was surprised by the arrest, to which he replied “yes.”
Former Yellowknife RCMP officer, Const. Kevin Sales – now posted in Toronto – appeared via video following Beaton's testimony, recounting the events of Sept. 28, 2015.
After being called to the detachment following the arrest, Sales was asked to look for Mantla's missing shoes.
Shoes found near detachment
Holding up a series of photos, Sales testified he found a pair of white Starter-brand shoes beside a nearby dumpster – approximately 100 feet from the RCMP detachment. The shoes, alleged to have belonged to Mantla, have been submitted as evidence.
The statements from law enforcement Wednesday follow emotional testimony made last week by Mantla's former girlfriend who survived the stabbing. She cannot be identified due to a publication ban.
On Friday, the woman's 11-year-old daughter appeared via video before Judge Louise Charbonneau, testifying she awoke to the screams of her mother, who she found laying in a nearby hallway.
“A lot of blood was on the floor and wall,” she said.
The witness, who was nine years old at the time of the incident, said she saw Mantla holding a knife, and that her mother had been cut in the back, chest and arms.
When asked whether or not the person holding the knife could have been someone other than Mantla, the witness said no.
“It was him,” she said confidently.
The girl said she asked Mantla what he was doing, to which he replied, “she's cheating on me.”
The court heard Mantla, who had been in a relationship with the mother, once lived with the witness and her siblings.
The trial resumes today and is expected to conclude on Feb.8 following arguments from the Crown and Mantla's defence.