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Witnesses recall Denecho King's violent behaviour leading up to alleged murder

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Brendan Burke/NNSL photo. Twenty-five-year old Denecho King, charged with murder and attempted murder in connection with a 2014 attack that left John Wifladt dead and Colin Digness seriously injured, enters the Yellowknife courthouse Tuesday morning. The trial, which began Monday with heightened security, has seen witnesses take the stand to recall their encounters with King and the two victims in the hours leading up to the attack. April 10, 2018.

Hours before allegedly carrying out a deadly attack at a Yellowknife apartment in late 2014, Denecho King had a series of violent outbursts – culminating in an assault of a woman outside of a taxi cab, witnesses testified during day two of the accused murderer's tightly-secured trial.

Beginning Monday with mandatory metal detector scans and bag searches for those entering Supreme Court, the trial continued Tuesday with testimony from a 23-year-old woman who recounted the events of Dec.13, 2014 – a day that started with drinking among friends and ended in violence.

Twenty-five-year old King, who sat shackled in court, is charged with the murder of John Wifladt and the attempted murder of Colin Digness, who survived the attack. The two victims were located in Sunridge Apartments on Dec. 14, 2014.

The woman told the court she and a friend had been drinking at the Fort Gary apartments in Yellowknife throughout the day, before another man – and later, King – arrived to join the house party.

The woman, recalling a night of heavy drinking and cocaine use, mapped the course of the evening from beginning to end, fielding questions from Crown prosecutor Alex Godfrey and King's lawyer Jay Bran.

In a night that saw the group of friends make trips to pick up another friend and to buy more alcohol, the woman recalled a recurring theme: the aggressive and violent behavior of King.

She testified that after growing angry inside the apartment, King threw a chair at a wall, and later punched the window of a door, cutting his hand in the process.

Later, while in a cab on route to a bar in downtown Yellowknife, the woman testified King told the driver to pull over so he could look for his I.D. Once stopped, a verbal argument between King and the woman ensued. King, she said, pulled her from the cab and dragged her onto the ground, where he kicked and punched her in the face.

She testified he threw her back in the taxi, telling the cab driver not to say anything about the incident before the woman and her friend drove away, leaving King behind.

A 21-year-old woman – the friend of the first witness who attended the same party at the Fort Gary apartment unit – took the stand next, corroborating the assault previously detailed.

Brendan Burke/NNSL photo.
Twenty-five-year old Denecho King, charged with murder and attempted murder in connection with a 2014 attack that left John Wifladt dead and seriously injured Colin Digness, enters the Yellowknife courthouse Tuesday morning.

During his opening statement Monday, Godfrey told Justice Andrew Mahar the Crown wouldn’t be offering direct evidence – or a motive. Instead, Godfrey said the defence will focus on piecing together the events leading up to the early hours of Dec. 14 through witness testimony, photo and video evidence, along with expert evidence to prove King’s guilt.

But Godfrey indicated expert testimony would show King's DNA was found on the handle of the weapon allegedly used in the December 2014 attack.

Monday's round of testimony saw three witnesses recall their encounters with victims Wifladt and Digness on the evening of Dec. 13, 2014.

Wifladt's 37-year-old brother, Tommy, stared down King as he walked to the stand.

Tommy recounted his brother’s closeness with Digness. He said that on the evening of Dec.13, he had met up with Wifladt and Digness for a night of drinking in downtown Yellowknife. The pair invited him to a party in Ndilo, which they later attended, but he declined. He testified that was the last time he saw his brother alive.

Two more witnesses, who had both attended the same Christmas party in Ndilo, were called to testify Monday afternoon. Bran cross-examined Wifladt’s 44-year-old cousin about a verbal altercation he witnessed between Wifladt, Digness and another party-goer. The party-goer took the stand next.

He said he and the two friends were just “barking at each other,” and that he went straight home after the confrontation.

Through an agreed statement of facts, the court heard a Yellowknife cab driver picked up Wifladt and Digness in Ndilo before dropping them off in the city at Sunridge Apartments – where they were found by first responders just hours later.

After two Crown witnesses who testified during an earlier preliminary hearing said they felt threatened and concerned for their safety, Mahar granted Godfrey’s request Monday for screens – testimonial aids – to be placed in the courtroom to block them from being able to see King.

Court heard one of the witnesses would avoid telephone calls, while the other said they were threatened in downtown Yellowknife following their earlier testimony.

The two witnesses, along with surviving victim Colin Digness, are expected to testify at a later date.

The Crown is expected to present evidence over the next three and a half weeks.