A bent sword was found under a bloodied but still-breathing John Wifladt at the scene of a deadly 2014 apartment attack, court heard Thursday in the murder trial of 25-year-old Denecho King.
Cpl. Chris Picknell, a former Yellowknife RCMP officer now stationed in Ottawa, testified he attended Sunridge Place apartments after receiving a call around 5 a.m. on Dec.14 2014.
Picknell told the court he entered a third floor apartment unit, where he saw two men lying on the floor.
The two men were Wifladt and his best friend Colin Digness, a Sunridge Place tenant who survived the brutal attack. Digness took the stand last week to testify he remembered little of the violent act that left him with enduring injuries and claimed the life of his long-time friend.
Picknell said he saw Wifladt, lying face-down on the floor. He testified there was blood on and around the victim, who was making slight movements. Underneath him was a bent sword, which Picknell picked up.
Wifladt later died of his injuries.
Members of Wifladt's family, often sitting front row during the trial, clutched boxes of tissue as they fought back tears.
Picknell testified just feet away he saw a badly injured Digness lying near a second sword.
He testified Digness, who had a large laceration to his forehead, made pained moaning and grunting sounds.
Const. Ryan Bennett, another Mountie who attended the scene with Picknell, took the stand next. Bennett said he saw two swords in the apartment, including the “almost bent in half” sword that had been under Wifladt and the second, “intact” sword near Digness. Bennett testified the intact sword had blood on it.
While King's lawyer Jay Bran and Crown prosecutor Alex Godfey have both previously asked witnesses about the swords – which Digness testified he displayed in his living room – Thursday's testimony marked the first time a witness has put the swords next to the victims at the time of the attack.
Paramedics who attended the bloody scene at Sunridge Place are expected to take the stand Friday as the trial continues.