HALIFAX — The murder trial of a Halifax-area teenager accused of participating in the killing of a 16-year-old student last year heard Tuesday from an eyewitness to the fatal stabbing.
The 17-year-old accused pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder following the April 22 death of Ahmad Maher Al Marrach, who was pronounced dead in hospital after being found seriously injured near the mall in ‘Halifax.
Melanie Adolph told the single-judge trial that she had taken her two children to the mall and was putting them in her vehicle when she heard a disturbance nearby. The 38-year-old woman said that as she walked toward a group of about a dozen rowdy teenagers in the mall’s parking garage, she saw a smaller group of four teenagers, two of whom were fighting on the concrete floor.
Melanie Adolph told the youth court that three of the teens were beating, kicking and stomping Ahmad Maher Al Marrach when she yelled at them to stop, which they did for a moment. She said that as Ahmad Maher Al Marrach got up and brushed the dust off him, another youth took out a large kitchen knife and stabbed him in the chest.
Melanie Adolph said she ran to the injured boy as he fell to his knees and collapsed, blood pouring from his chest.
“It was like something you would see in a horror movie,” she told Judge Elizabeth Buckle.
Melanie Adolph said she and another bystander applied pressure to the boy’s wound to stop the bleeding, and she said she called 911 after not getting an answer when she asked members of the crowd increasing call to the police.
“Time passed slowly and quickly at the same time,” she said, adding that the traumatic incident was over in about five to seven minutes.
The name of the accused or any details that could be used to identify him or her are protected from publication under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
In her opening statement Monday, Crown prosecutor Sarah Kirby said the Crown agreed the accused did not stab the young man. However, Ms Kirby said the evidence will show that the accused planned the mob attack, which he knew could lead to the death of Ahmad Maher Al Marrach.
Defense lawyer Anna Mancini said the evidence will show her client did not intend to cause death or bodily harm likely to result in death.
