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Denecho King, lawyers, judge visit scene of deadly attack as trial continues

A heavy police presence accompanied a hand-cuffed Denecho King to Sunridge Place apartments – the scene of a deadly 2014 attack he's accused of carrying out – Friday morning.

King, along with his lawyer Jay Bran, Crown prosecutors Alex Godfrey and Jill Andrews and Justice Andrew Mahar, attended the 51 Avenue apartment complex for a viewing – a judicial procedural sometimes employed during trials.

An application to have all parties attend the apartment was put forth by Godfrey in court Thursday. King's defence agreed the motion would be beneficial to the court, and Mahar granted the request.

On Dec. 14 2014, Colin Digness survived a bloody and brutal attack in his third floor apartment unit in Sunridge Place. John Wifladt, Digness' best friend, was found in the same apartment. Wifladt later died of his injuries.

King, 25, is on trial for the death Wifladt and the attempted murder of Digness. Digness took the stand Thursday, during the fourth day of the tightly-secured trial, to testify he doesn't remember the attack that left him with lasting injuries and claimed the life of his longtime friend.

Friday's trip to the complex was meant to give the defence, the Crown and Mahar an up-close look at room where King allegedly perpetrated the violent act.

The group, made up of more than a dozen law enforcement officers, courtroom officials and King himself, stayed in the building for around 15 minutes, before walking around to the back of Sunridge Place, where they paused for a few more minutes. Police were seen videotaping the visit.

King was then escorted back into an RCMP vehicle before returning to the Yellowknife courthouse. Proceedings have wrapped up for Friday and will continue on Monday.

While in custody, waiting to be tried on the charges, King escaped the North Slave Correctional Centre in August 2016. The brazen daylight escape prompted a dramatic three-day police manhunt that ended when RCMP located King at his mother’s home in Yellowknife, not far from the NSCC.