REGINA -- Four witnesses testified in court on Wednesday to what they remember from an October 2018 party where 16-year-old Erica Hill was killed.
The boy accused of second-degree murder in the case was 15-years-old at the time of the death, so he - as well as several witnesses - cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
The first witness, a 16-year-old girl, appeared by video, and said the house on Cameron Street was full when she arrived. The witness said everyone was drinking and early in the night someone was kicked out for having bear mace on them.
The witness said later in the evening she remembers seeing Hill fighting with the accused around midnight and thought she saw the accused land a punch on Hill, around her neck area. The witness was then pushed out of the house, so she couldn’t see what happened after.
“I just seen the motions that happened,” the witness said. “The host of the party was screaming for us to get out, so we just left.” “People were pushing people off the stairs trying to get out.”
The witness said she also saw a pocket knife that night, but did not see any other weapons.
A second 16-year-old witness also appeared by video, and said she was watching Hill and the accused arguing and sensed something bad was going to happen, but never saw any weapons. The witness believed she saw the accused hit Hill with his right hand near the side of her face.
“When he punched her I guess that’s when he might have stabbed her,” the witness said.
The witness said suddenly everyone freaked out and she saw Hill fall down.
“It looked like she was falling and people were trying to hold her up,” the witness said. “It all happened so fast and everyone just started running for the stairs,” she said. “The last time I looked she was on the floor and there was blood.”
During cross examination the witness said she was intoxicated to the point of blacking out and could only recall pieces from the night.
Nicholas McNab, 18, testified he brought a machete to the party but can’t remember if he ever brought it out. McNab said he never saw any other weapons at the party.
McNab was able to identify himself in a video shown in court of the fight from the party and believed he was trying to help break up the fight.
“I just remember everybody yelling and stuff and I left the party,” McNab said.
After leaving the party, McNab said he went to a different party, where he ended up fighting the accused after hearing that he fought with Hill.
During cross examination McNab said there might have been other weapons but he was drunk and struggled to remember what happened.
Another video of the fight was shown and McNab identified himself with the machete in his hand, but said he never used it.
A 17-year-old girl then took the stand and said fights happened as people continued to drink more.
The witness said she came down to the basement and saw Hill, after the fight.
“Her face went pale and then she fell on the ground, unconscious,” the witness said.
The witness said she tried to grab a towel to help and that Hill was trying to speak.
“She was looking at me crying and I couldn’t stop it,” the witness said.
More witnesses are set to testify on Thursday. Court is expected to last another week and a half.
