A man convicted of manslaughter in the death of Lukas Strasser-Hird over five years ago testified on Thursday against another man who is on trial for first-degree murder in the teen’s death.
Nathan Gervais, 23, is accused of killing 18-year-old Strasser-Hird in an alley outside the old Vinyl Nightclub in November 2013.
Strasser-Hird was swarmed, beaten and stabbed outside the club and later succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
Gervais failed to show up for his original trial in 2016. He was arrested in Vietnam in November 2017 and returned to Canada to face the charge.
Gervais’ trial started on Monday and he pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charge.
The Crown told the court that two altercations occurred on the evening of November 23rd; one in front of the nightclub and the second behind the club.
The prosecutor said Gervais left the club to get a knife and then stabbed Strasser-Hird, intending to kill him.
On Thursday Joch Pouk testified for the Crown.
Pouk was convicted of manslaughter in the case and is now on day parole.
He said he saw Gervais nod ‘Yes’ when someone asked them ‘if they did it’, while the pair was in the Remand Centre. Under cross examination, the defence questioned if the question was really directed at them.
Gervais is being tried by judge alone and the trial is scheduled to last until the end of next week.
