HALIFAX — The trial for a Halifax youth accused of participating in the killing of a 16-year-old student last year heard Monday from one of the victim’s friends, but much of his testimony was debunked by a defence lawyer.
The 17-year-old accused, who can't be identified, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the killing of Ahmad Maher Al Marrach, who was stabbed outside the Halifax Shopping Centre on April 22.
The 15-year-old witness told the judge-only trial that Al Marrach had asked him via text message to gather some friends and head to the mall to watch him fight another boy.
"We told him not to fight," the witness, a Grade 10 student, told youth court Judge Elizabeth Buckle. "He said, 'No, I have to do this.'"
The Crown and defence agree that the accused did not stab Al Marrach, but the Crown has said the evidence will show the accused planned a group assault, which he knew could lead to Al Marrach's death.
In court on Monday, the witness said that as he entered the mall’s parkade, the fight had already started. He said he saw the accused holding a knife even though he wasn't directly involved in the fracas, and he said he saw a second boy standing nearby holding two knives.
The 15-year-old witness, who was unarmed, said the two boys were preventing Al Marrach's friends from interfering with the fight. And he said that at one point, the accused pointed his knife at him and said, "Get close an see what happens."
As for the boy with two knives, the witness recalled him saying: "Do you want to get killed?" And the witness went on to say both armed boys ran toward him with their weapons drawn.
But under cross-examination, the witness changed key parts of his story.
Defence lawyer Anna Mancini reminded the witness that in a statement he gave police in May 2024, he said the boy with the two knives was the only one who threatened him.
"I kind of didn't hear (the accused), but I was unsure about it because everyone was yelling," the witness told the court.
Mancini pressed for an explanation: "I'm going to suggest that the person who made a threat to you was not (the accused)," she said. The witness agreed.
He also agreed when Mancini asked him if he had taken part in discussions on social media about the case. And when she asked if that content had influenced his memory of what happened on April 22, he agreed again.
As well, Mancini challenged his assertion that the armed boys had run toward him while holding knives. The witness said that recollection was wrong after the court was shown video images from a surveillance camera inside the parking garage. Those pictures showed the witness in the foreground, and at no point does anyone approach him.
"I'm going to suggest that no one ran at you with a knife," Mancini said.
"I agree," the witness said.
The video also appears to show the witness standing next to Al Marrach in the moments after he is stabbed.
"As soon as I saw the blood running down, I started running," the witness told the court.
On another front, the defence lawyer noted that when the witness told the court that Al Marrach had said the fight was over a girl, that statement conflicted with what the witness told police. Reading from his statement, Mancini said the boy had told investigators the fight was triggered by comments another boy had made about Al Marrach's family.
Five weeks have been set aside for the trial, which is expected to resume Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 13, 2025.
Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press
