The second-degree murder trial of Philip Joe Jr. opened this week with witness accounts of the events of the night that culminated in the stabbing death of Philip's brother, Conrad Joe.
The court heard from Trevor Joe, Philip and Conrad's cousin, and Dillon Baptiste, a family friend, in court Monday. The four had been drinking and playing poker Aug. 29, 2009, when a fight broke out between Philip and Conrad, though neither Trevor nor Baptiste were in eyeshot when Philip allegedly delivered the fatal stab wounds.
Under questions from Crown counsel, Trevor Joe told the court Philip and Conrad began yelling and shoving each other after several hours of drinking. Trevor said he had initially tried to break up the fight, but was pushed out of the way.
According to Baptiste, the fight then moved to the kitchen of the home on Sechelt Inlet Avenue where it became more violent.
"They were both swinging at each other. Phil was boxed in up against the sink," Baptiste said.
Baptiste said Philip then grabbed a frying pan and chased after Conrad towards the front of the house.
"As soon as [Conrad] opened the door, Phil hit him in the back of the head and dropped it and they ran around the back of the house," Baptiste said.
When Baptiste and Trevor went outside, they found Conrad on the ground bleeding profusely with puncture wounds in his abdomen and ribs. They helped him inside and Trevor called 9-1-1.
"He was just trying to breathe and fight for air," Baptiste said. "I checked for a pulse and there was none."
Conrad was pronounced dead at St. Mary's Hospital later that night.
Tuesday's testimony centred on one of the Crown's key witnesses, Nicholas Thibeault, an 18-year-old neighbour and relative of the Joe family. Thibeault was outside in the adjoining yard at the time of the alleged stabbing.
Thibeault said he saw the fight spill out into the yard and end with Philip standing over Conrad between two derelict cars and punching Conrad.
During cross examination, Philip's defence lawyer, David Tarnow, raised questions about Conrad's violent nature and challenged witnesses' memory of the night.
Tarnow asked Trevor if Conrad was prone to becoming aggressive when he was drinking.
"You could say that," Trevor responded. "[Con-rad] was the aggressor in the altercation from my point of view."
Tarnow challenged Thibeault's ability to recall the events of the night and pointed out several inconsistencies between Tuesday's testimony and statements Thibeault made during a preliminary hearing in December. Tarnow prodded Thibeault to admit to having a bad memory and suggested that Conrad was continuing to hit Philip in the yard, but Thibeault insisted he could remember.
"I never saw Conrad swing back," he said.
Tarnow suggested to Judge Sunni Stromberg-Stein that Philip was acting in self-defence and that intoxication and provocation played a role. He asked her to inform the jury of the points of law when self-defence and intoxication are relevant in a second-degree murder case.
"I think the evidence will show Mr. Joe was under attack at the time and was under the reasonable apprehension of death or grievous bodily harm," Tarnow said. "You heard from the witness that he was boxed in."
Tarnow suggested that man-slaughter would have been a more appropriate charge than second-degree murder.
Conrad was previously convicted of manslaughter in February 1997 in the beating death of retired Sechelt doctor James Farish during a bungled robbery in 1995. Conrad was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The Crown was expected to rest its case yesterday (Thursday) with the defence calling witnesses next week.
