Witnesses say Denecho King violent in hours before deadly attack
Murder trial hears from witnesses who drank with accused the night one man was murdered and another injured
Denecho King attacked a woman hours before the murder and attempted murder he's accused of, according to witnesses who testified during the second day of his trial by a judge alone in Yellowknife.
Danika Fehr said in N.W.T. Supreme Court that King's attack on her was his third violent outburst during an evening of heavy drinking and some cocaine use on Dec. 13, 2014.
King, 25, is accused of attacking two men in a Yellowknife apartment building hours later. One of the men, John Wifladt, died shortly after in hospital. The other man, Colin Digness, survived after being medevaced to a hospital in Edmonton.
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Fehr, 23, said that during a party earlier in another apartment, King threw a chair at a wall and later punched a door, cutting his hand. She said members of the group later called a cab to go to a downtown bar.
"I must've said something to piss him off," said Fehr of the ride to the bar. She said the cab stopped and "[King] dragged me out and beat me up and said, 'Get the f--k out of here.'"
Fehr said King kicked and punched her in the face as she tried to protect herself on the ground, then warned the cab driver not to tell anyone about the attack.
Cab beating
Fehr withstood questioning by King's lawyer, Jay Bran, but admitted she doesn't have a clear recollection of significant details, such as where exactly the cab attack occurred, because of the amount of alcohol she had consumed.
Fehr's cousin, who was hosting the drinking party in the apartment, said no drugs were consumed that evening. Candace Minoza, 21, gave a similar description of the attack, and said when it ended, King turned to the cab driver and said, "'If you say anything, I'll come after you.'"
You went to the Raven to avoid [King]?- Jay Bran
The driver, Nelson Muchekeni, who was the only sober witness, testified that when he picked up the group at Fort Gary Apartments some time after 11 p.m., King and one of the three women with him were arguing. He said King took the front passenger seat and, as the argument escalated, attempted to reach back and punch the woman during the drive "quite a number of times."
The driver said, as he drove, he put his arm out in an attempt to prevent King from punching the woman. But he said King eventually barged through his arm and went into the back of the minivan and attacked the woman.
The driver said the woman refused his offer to take them to the police station and the hospital.
Conflicting testimonies
Minoza and Fehr had different recollections of what happened immediately after the attack. Both said they rushed away in the cab, leaving King behind, and went toward the Raven, the bar where they were all originally headed.
"You went to the Raven to avoid [King]?" asked Bran during cross-examination of Minoza, suggesting the two women wanted to continue partying and were not troubled by whatever happened during the cab ride.
Fehr said she cleaned blood from her face at a restaurant next to the bar, then lent her ID to Minoza, who wanted to go to the bar for a drink, but was underage. She said after awhile she went to the bar to get Minoza, but could not get in because she had no ID. She said the doorman allowed her to retrieve her cousin and they left.
Minoza said they never went to a restaurant. She said she never made it into the bar. The doorman did not accept the ID she presented and kept it.
The trial is expected to continue for two more weeks.