The jury trial for a man charged with second-degree murder in the 2023 death of Deijean Drybones in Behchokǫ̀ began in NWT Supreme Court on Monday.
Zakk Lafferty, 26, was charged in August 2023 a few days after RCMP said a 17-year-old boy had been found with serious injuries at a home in the community.
Police said the teenager, later identified as Deijean, was taken to Behchokǫ̀’s health centre and then Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife where he was declared deceased.
Lafferty has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.
Jury selection for Lafferty’s trial began on Monday morning at the Chateau Nova Hotel in Yellowknife.
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In a courtroom that afternoon, Crown prosecutor Brendan Green told the 12 selected jurors Deijean had died from a single stab wound to the chest.
The first witness in the trial, Cst Blake McNeil, testified about responding to a call for service to a home in Behchokǫ̀ shortly before 3am on August 4, 2023.
McNeil said he found Deijean in the recovery position in a bathroom at the home and located an open wound on his chest. He said Deijean appeared to be in pain and was “making a lot of noises.”
McNeil said he provided Deijean with first aid and tried to ask him what had happened but Deijean initially did not want to tell him.
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McNeil testified that Deijean later told him he had been stabbed by Lafferty, who he had met that day, but did not know why. According to McNeil, Deijean then said Lafferty had stabbed him as his friend had beaten Lafferty up, but Lafferty believed he was responsible.
The jury heard an audio recording of a subsequent statement McNeil took from Deijean.
On the recording, Deijean could be heard saying he was stabbed by Lafferty. When asked why, he said: “My friend beat him up and he thought I did it.”
Before he was taken to the health centre, McNeil said Deijean told him: “If I die, tell my mom I love her.”
McNeil said police arrested four other people that were in the home that morning, which did not include Lafferty. He said they were intoxicated, incoherent and only one of them was responsive.
McNeil said that person had appeared “panicked” and had a bucket and a mop, but the officer told him not to disturb the scene.
Lafferty’s trial is scheduled for two weeks.
Green told the jury the forensic pathologist who conducted Deijean’s autopsy is expected to testify, as well as RCMP officers who investigated following Deijean’s death.
Green said several of Deijean’s friends would also testify about what happened that night, but cautioned that alcohol and marijuana were consumed and some witnesses may struggle to articulate what they remember.
Second-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with parole ineligibility ranging from 10 to 25 years.
