There were tears inside a Regina courtroom as the murder trial of three men heard from a man who says he witnessed the killing of Shawn Douglas.
Aiden Anaquod was a low-level street gang member at the time. Anaquod said he and his friends were at a party at the home of a higher-ranking gang member, Joshua Wilson, the night Douglas died.
Also attending the party were Douglas and two women, who Anaquod said appeared to betray Douglas.
Anaquod testified he overheard a conversation, in which the two women told Wilson, "this guy has money. You should rob him."
Douglas also heard the conversation and tried to leave, but Wilson "ran up to him and pulled a knife on his neck (and) pulled him back into the house," Anaquod said.
The jury heard one of the other accused, Jonathon Peepeetch, beat Douglas until he was unconscious. Later, Douglas and nine people from the house party piled into two vehicles, and Anaquod said Wilson ordered him to come along.
The group drove to a bank, where Wilson and one of the women took Douglas inside. Anaquod believed it was to withdraw money from an ATM.
That was when Peepeetch told Douglas that "he is going to die; that he was going to a better place. I'm going to say a little prayer for you," Anaquod said.
"After Johnathon said what he had to say, he swung the sledgehammer. You could hear (Douglas’) skull crack."
Anaquod told the jury Douglas fell to the ground, and then he saw Wilson stab the victim several more times.
Anaquod testified that a third man accused of murdering Douglas, Dennis Thompson, and two others were present in the woods, but he could not recall if they played any direct role in the killing.
Douglas’ body was found on a rural property northeast of Regina in August 2014.
