Victim bled to death from multiple wounds, trial told

Two men stabbed after unwanted guests returned to house party

Brett Wiese bled to death after being stabbed seven times at a backtoschool house party on Brisebois Drive N. W., including one stab in the back that punctured a main blood vessel, says the forensic pathologist who did the autopsy.

Dr. Bamidele Adeagbo, assistant chief medical examiner for Alberta, testified on Thursday that Wiese, 20, had 2.2 litres of blood in his chest cavity as a result of the wounds.

“It went through the space between the ribs in the lower back through the left lung lobe, perforating the back wall of the aorta — very big vascular tissue in your body that carries blood from your heart to the lower part of your body,” the doctor told Crown prosecutor Carla MacPhail.

Adeagbo said the victim also sustained two wounds to the right flank of his abdomen, one each to the face, right chest, elbow and right mid- back.

He said the 2.2 litres of blood loss, which is a fatal amount, was in addition to unknown amounts of blood at the scene, including on the floor, and blood that had soaked into clothing.

Mitchell Harkes, who is alleged to have inflicted six of the wounds, is on trial for second- degree murder in connection with the death of Wiese on Jan. 12 2013, after he and several girls — some of whom had been evicted a few hours earlier for crashing the party — returned for revenge.

He’s also charged with the attempted murder of Colton Lewis, and assaults on two other men at the party.

Jazlyn Radke, then 17, was previously convicted of second- degree murder as an adult and was sentenced to life in prison with no parole for seven years. She was found to have inflicted the main wound that led to the significant blood loss, after Harkes had stabbed him the first six times.

Under cross- examination by defence lawyer Balfour Der, Adeagbo agreed the wound to the aorta was the only one that by itself was lethal, but couldn’t say how much blood loss could be apportioned to the six stab wounds attributed to Harkes.

He said it’s very difficult to recover blood from surfaces and clothing in order to obtain a proper measure.

When asked if he had spoken to the emergency room physician about how much blood was on the floor at the hospital, Adeagbo said: “That information I did not obtain.”

Adeagbo agreed with Der that it was possible, if Wiese had sustained all but the wound to the aorta, he’d still be able to walk and talk. However, he maintained that the cause of death was all of the stab wounds.

Alex MacNaull told court previously that he and some friends were winding down at the conclusion of the party when an intruder stormed into the Brisebois Drive N. W. home, “angry and aggressive in his manner and movements.”

MacNaull said he went to check out the commotion around 3 a. m. and heard Harkes, yell, “Do you think you can kick my girls out of the party?” He was alluding to several underage girls having been forced to leave earlier.

He said Harkes then punched Phil Bamber in the eye, knocking him backwards. When he went upstairs, he saw that Lewis and Wiese had been gravely wounded.

Lewis survived after emergency surgery, but Wiese died.

The trial continues on Friday.