Man tells court he has blocked out ‘gory details’ of friend’s fatal stabbing
Claude Louis Gauthier says he doesn’t remember what happened to Patrick Dong after he drove the man southwest of Saskatoon, leaving him on a dark country road.
He was “intoxicated and angry” but did not intend on hurting Dong. Gauthier said the plan was to scare his friend into admitting that he had stolen another friend’s cellphone.
What took place after Dong got out of his truck is a blur, he said.
“I’m not 100-per-cent clear on the facts,” Gauthier told court, adding he was coming off a lengthy methamphetamine bender during the incident that began on Oct. 22, 2016.
A passerby found Dong ’s body in a ditch the next day.
Testifying on Tuesday at the trial of a 19-year-old woman charged with first-degree murder in connection with Dong ’s death, Gauthier identified the accused as being one of three other people who were in his truck. He said he remembers her briefly going outside after Dong left the truck.
On cross-examination, he said he recalled telling police the girl was “not with it” at the time.
The accused cannot be identified because she was 17 years old when she stabbed Dong six times in the leg, an agreed fact presented at the trial’s outset.
When Justice Shawn Smith pointed that out to Gauthier, he told the Crown he was scared of being labelled a “rat” at the penitentiary if he testified against the girl.
Gauthier said he has blocked out what happened that night ever since the “gory details” of Dong’s death were revealed at his sentencing hearing in September.
Court heard Dong bled to death after being stabbed and beaten with a metal object. according to the facts, Gauthier stayed inside his truck during the assault.
The 27-year-old is a serving a seven-year sentence after pleading guilty to manslaughter for his role in Dong’s death. Crown prosecutor Michael Pilon did not question Gauthier about his conviction, telling Smith it was not relevant to the trial.
Gauthier said he was tired, strung out and foggy during the incident, but testified in detail about the route he took to get out to Hodgson Road, specific landmarks that were nearby and what the weather was like that night. He said he does not remember seeing someone with a switchblade or hearing screams outside his truck, information he previously gave to police and the court during the girl’s preliminary hearing.
Brendan Hein, who lived at the house where Dong sometimes slept, testified Gauthier was among a group of people who punched and dragged Dong from the house after accusing him of stealing their property. He said the accused girl stood in the kitchen, wearing a red bandana and playing with a knife.
A gang leader later threatened to kill him and his wife if they spoke to police, Hein said.
Hein’s wife said the girl came back to their house a week later and demanded money from their roommate, saying “I did this for you.”