Ethier guilty of murdering his friend

There were tears on both sides of the courtroom Friday as a jury found Brandon Ethier guilty of second-degree murder in the October 2016 slaying of his friend and roommate Joshua Briere.

Friends and families of both men wept quietly in court as the jury returned with the verdict Friday morning after three days of deliberations. Justice Kevin Phillips said Ethier will receive a life sentence after considering the jury recommendation for parole ineligibility, to be set between 10 and 25 years.

Holly Briere, Joshua’s mother, said outside court she was heartbroken over the loss of her son, and also for Ethier’s family, who supported him throughout the three-week trial.

“I truly feel this is not a win for us. It’s a deeply painful situation for both sides,” she said.

Ethier had pleaded guilty to manslaughter — the only other option for the jury to consider — after he stabbed Briere, 26, in the late hours of a booze- and cocainefuelled party the two were hosting at their Clyde Avenue apartment. Ethier testified in his own defence, claiming he accidentally stabbed his friend as an argument escalated around 3 a.m. on Oct. 22, 2016.

Ethier’s defence centered largely on his level of intoxication at the time of the killing. Ethier told the jury he spent the day and night drinking vodka and beer and smoking weed. A small-time drug dealer, Ethier had provided cocaine to some of the party guests that evening, using the eventual murder weapon to cut lines in his bedroom.

As an argument escalated between the two roommates, Ethier retreated to his room, returned with the knife and stabbed Briere twice, once in the heart.

The jury sided with the Crown’s case for murder after hearing testimony from other witnesses, including Briere’s then-17-year-old brother Joel Briere, who believed the stabbing was deliberate.

Phillips said the Crown needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ethier caused Briere’s death, that he did so unlawfully, and, crucially, that he had “the state of mind required for murder.”

But the judge reminded the jury of Ethier’s own testimony last week, in which the accused said, “I meant to cut him. I didn’t mean to kill him.”

Ethier’s mind was “significantly clouded by intoxicants” at the time of the killing, according to his defence. The Crown argued Ethier intended to cause bodily harm, knew the likelihood Briere could die from the stabbing, “but went ahead anyway.”

Court heard several eyewitness accounts of another “tussle” earlier in the night between the two men.

A second argument later in the night escalated with Briere pushing Ethier and Ethier smashing a beer bottle over Briere’s head.

The Crown contended Ethier was motivated to kill by “alcoholfuelled anger and embarrassment.”

Ethier testified he stabbed his roommate once as Briere adopted a fighting stance, claiming Briere “pivoted” his body onto the blade. Ethier claimed the second fatal wound, hilt-deep through Briere’s rib cage, was accidental as the two men grappled.

Other partygoers who witnessed the killing gave a different account, telling the jury Ethier walked aggressively toward Briere, kept the knife hidden, and swung his arm back before striking the fatal blow.

Briere’s family had released a statement shortly after the killing saying they had forgiven Ethier for the killing.

Outside court Friday, Holly Briere described a “state of shock” that lingered long after her son died.

“… It was well after a year until the full scope of our horrific reality began to take form,” she said. “I believe that was God shielding my heart.

“When I say I forgive (Ethier), it doesn’t mean I accept what he has done. But I won’t allow my heart to be imprisoned by anger and bitterness.”