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Woman on trial for aggravated assault in alleged 2016 attack

A judge and jury trial for a 56-year-old woman accused of attacking her former partner, leaving him unconscious in a pool of blood, began in a Yellowknife courtroom Monday.

Yellowknifer is choosing not to name the accused in order to protect the identity of her alleged victim.

The woman faces one count of aggravated assault.

She pleaded not guilty to the charge, leading to a trial in NWT Supreme Court. The matter is expected to last all week.

Late in the evening on Dec. 3, 2016, the court heard in an agreed statement of facts - facts related to the case the accused has admitted - RCMP responded to a call for assistance at a Crestview Apartments unit. They found the complainant, the woman’s former partner, lying on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood.

No one else was in the apartment when first responders arrived.

The complainant, the court heard, was treated for a two-centimetre stab wound to his left thigh. The man suffered significant blood loss, and underwent multiple blood transfusions.

Police were never able to locate a weapon at or near the apartment unit.

Forensics teams on site observed blood in the entrance way, kitchen and living room of the apartment.

In his opening statement, prosecutor Jay Potter outlined what the 12-member jury can expect in terms of the Crown’s evidence.

Potter said two men, including the complainant, are due to to testify, along with “several” police officers involved in the subsequent investigation.

A man who was drinking with the the accused and her ex-partner on the night of the stabbing took the stand Tuesday. He told Potter he witnessed the woman stab the alleged victim in his right leg with a kitchen knife. The witness, who said he was drunk during the incident, was then questioned by the accused’s lawyer, who attempted to highlight inconsistencies in the timeline the witness presented in his testimony.

Audio and video recordings, along with photographs, will be played and shown to jurors, said Potter, adding the jury will also hear two statements made to police by the accused.

The allegations brought forth against the accused have not been proven in court.