Trial starts for teen accused of killing Jannai Dopwell-Bailey outside Montreal high school

A trial is underway for a teenager accused of second-degree murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Jannai Dopwell-Bailey outside a high school in Montreal's Côte-des-Neiges district two years ago.

The accused in the case was also 16 when he was charged, and can't be named due to a publication ban.

Dopwell-Bailey was a student at Mile End high school, an alternative school in Montreal's west end, located in the basement of another school, Coronation Elementary. He was stabbed to death after finishing his school day in October 2021.

In his opening arguments Thursday, Crown prosecutor Simon Robin told the jury the accused had recently been suspended from that school but returned there the day of the stabbing.

Robin said the accused had a confrontation with Dopwell-Bailey and that Dopwell-Bailey tried to flee, but the accused chased him, pushed him up against a wall and stabbed him. Part of what happened was captured on video, but not the actual stabbing.

Robin also told jurors they'll see an Instagram video, posted just an hour after the stabbing, showing the accused celebrating with a knife in his hand while mocking Dopwell-Bailey.

Robin said although Dopwell-Bailey was Black and the accused is white, race was not a motive in the crime.

The accused has pleaded not guilty.

Dopwell-Bailey's mother and other family members were in the courtroom.

Charla Dopwell has spoken publicly about how deeply her son's death has affected her.

"It's hard and it's very painful. And it's very hard to process. But I keep the faith and I pray every day," said Dopwell, during a vigil marking the anniversary of her son's death in 2022.

"I ask God to give me strength, to give me love, hope, salvation, understanding. I ask God to help all the children, the teenagers."

The Crown said jurors will hear from eyewitnesses, experts and police officers during a trial that is expected to last six weeks.

A second man, who was 18 at the time of his arrest, has also been charged in the case, but his trial is still pending. There is a publication ban on his name and his participation in the incident as well.