Ex-girlfriend of Kelvin stabbing victim regrets not telling a teacher before fight
Brett Bourne, 17, died in 2015 after jealousy-fuelled brawl at high school
A young woman, who was the subject of a fight that ended in the stabbing death of Brett Bourne at Kelvin High School, told a jury she had already broken up with the target of Bourne's anger when he was killed.
Prosecutors say Bourne tried to start a fight with with a teenager who had also dated his ex-girlfriend, and chased him into the school. That's when the accused allegedly retrieved a knife and stabbed Bourne.
The now 19-year-old woman said she had walked out of school around lunch hour, June 2, 2015, when she saw Bourne, an ex-boyfriend of two years, standing across the street with a friend.
He fell down and passed out. He would wake up for a couple of seconds and pass out again … then I saw a little slit in his lower torso.- Witness
The woman said Bourne, who did not see her, had been upset she had been dating another boy. The woman cannot be identified by name, under terms of a court-ordered publication ban.
The woman said she had broken up with the second teen a week earlier, but had not told Bourne.
"When I saw [Bourne], my first thought was, oh my gosh, I don't want to deal with this," she told jurors.
The woman said she sat down with friends on a patch of grass, her back to Bourne, as the second teen leaned nervously against a school wall.
"He said 'I know he came here to fight me.' I said 'Well, you don't have to fight him.'"
Court has heard Bourne had tried goading the second teen off school property to fight before chasing him inside the school.
"I said out loud, and I really regret now that I didn't, that I should go get a teacher," the woman said.
I said out loud, and I really regret now that I didn't, that I should go get a teacher.- Witness
Bourne was banned from school property and covered his face as he charged toward the second teen, the woman told jurors.
"I thought maybe he had mace, but in hindsight I know he was just hiding his face from the [security cameras]," the woman said.
Prosecutors allege the now 19-year-old accused intervened inside the school and stabbed Bourne in the chest. He has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. Prosecutors allege the accused retrieved the knife from a friend's car prior to the fight.
Unaware Bourne was stabbed: witness
The woman said she was unaware Bourne had been stabbed when she caught up to the second teen inside the school seconds after the fight.
The woman said she saw the accused and three other teens get into a car and drive away after the fight.
Outside, she saw Bourne collapse to the ground.
"It was almost as if he had been hit in the head," she said. "He fell down and passed out. He would wake up for a couple of seconds and pass out again ... I first assumed he hit his head on a metal bench, but then I saw a little slit in his lower torso."
Jurors have heard the accused approached police after the stabbing and claimed he had sustained a slash wound to his arm during the fight. Prosecutors allege the wound was self-inflicted.
The woman testified she and the second teen Bourne was fighting with only knew the accused casually.