Trial begins for accused in random knife attacks

Violent spree on Avenue O South in 2013 injured two men, left a third man dead

On New Year’s Day 2013, Raven Don Constant allegedly stabbed three men a total of 30 times in a span of five minutes.

According to the Crown, the attack was completely random.

One of the men, 28-year-old Jonathan Moosewaypayo, died in the violent spree. He had been stabbed 18 times.

Moosewaypayo was found outside an apartment building in the 100 block of Avenue O South around 12:30 a.m. That same morning, across the street, two teenagers were also stabbed in the parking lot of the Blue Diamond restaurant, Crown prosecutor Melodi Kujawa told jurors during her opening statement in Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench.

An 11-man, one-woman jury will decide if Constant, who was 18 years old at the time, is guilty of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.

The Crown’s theory is that Constant attacked the teens in the parking lot before fatally stabbing Moosewaypayo, based on evidence that includes surveillance video of Constant in the restaurant parking lot.

Kujawa told jurors the two men who survived the stabbings will testify at Constant’s trial, as well as an undercover police officer who was in a jail cell with the accused.

According to police, Constant was on remand for the other two stabbings when he was charged with Moosewaypayo’s murder in May 2013 — four months after the knife attack.

Sgt. David Larocque testified he took a DNA sample from Constant that same month.

The first police officer to testify, Const. Nathan Sadownick, said he responded to the call about Moosewaypayo’s stabbing on Jan. 1, 2013. He said the victim appeared intoxicated and became “combative” when he regained consciousness during the ambulance ride to the hospital.

The trial is scheduled to last two weeks.