'Incredibly wasted' Banff killer should be guilty of manslaughter not murder, defence argues

The man who fatally stabbed a Banff restaurant employee was "incredibly wasted" at the time of the killing and should be convicted of manslaughter, not murder, his lawyer argued Thursday. 

John Christopher Arrizza, 24, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Ethan Enns-Goneau, 26, who was killed in the early morning hours of Aug. 5, 2022.

On Thursday, jurors heard closing arguments from defence lawyer Katherin Beyak and prosecutor Patrick Bigg. 

"I urge you to find as a result of his intoxication … Mr. Arrizza did not intend to cause the death of Mr. Enns-Goneau," said Beyak. 

• Banff restaurant employee killed as he used washroom, jurors hear at start of murder trial

But Bigg told jurors the case is about common sense and pointed to the "repetitive viciousness" of the attack. 

"What was it Mr. Arrizza was intending when he decided to stab Ethan 11 times," Bigg said to jurors.

"Have you ever done something 11 times?"

Victim 'happy-go-lucky'

On the night of Aug. 4, 2022, following a shift at Melissa's MisSteak restaurant, Enns-Goneau met up with friends and the group bar-hopped through Banff until they ended up at the Dancing Sasquatch around 1:30 a.m.

Bigg described Enns-Goneau as "happy-go-lucky" when he arrived at the bar and headed straight to the bathroom in the basement. 

In the minutes leading up to the encounter, security camera footage from the Sasquatch shows Arrizza "wandering around incredibly wasted," according to Beyak.

The video shows Arrizza falling on the stairs twice and bumping into the basement walls as he goes in and out of the bathroom several times.

Just over a minute later, Enns-Goneau is pushed out of the bathroom by Arrizza, who stabbed the victim several times. Bouncers rushed in and got the knife away from the killer as the victim collapsed on the floor. 

'I f--ked him up'

Despite the efforts by bar staff and paramedics to save his life, Enns-Goneau died of his injures.

In the moments after the stabbing, a witness heard Arrizza say "I f--ked him up," and then "that's right, I just killed that motherf--ker."

After his arrest, Arrizza told police he had been attacked. 

Footage from inside the police cruiser was played for jurors.

"I definitely got scared when somebody started grabbing me and pushing me into a wall in the bathroom and I'm there alone," he said.

But Bigg argued that assertion was an "excuse" or "justification" offered to the police officer. 

"Was Mr. Arrizza attacked? No, he wasn't," said Bigg. 

Justice Robert Hall will deliver instructions to jurors on how to apply the law as they consider the evidence. They will be sequestered during deliberations until a verdict is reached.