Paramedic testifies about trying to save John Wifladt's life at Denecho King trial
Crime scene contamination may become topic as trial moves forward
A paramedic who took John Wifladt to Stanton Territorial Hospital says he found the dying man moaning and incoherent on the floor of a Sunridge Place apartment.
Wifladt died in the hospital on Dec. 14, 2014. He and Colin Digness had been found in the apartment earlier that day, surrounded by blood.
Denecho King is currently on trial for charges of second-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault in connection to the incident. He is accused of killing Wifladt and seriously hurting Digness, who survived after being medevaced to Edmonton.
Paul Grismer, a member of the Yellowknife Fire Department, testified in N.W.T. Supreme Court Friday that he and four others in the department responded to a call for an ambulance that day.
Not making sense
Wifladt was "not making logical sense," said Grismer. "He had some motor function, but was certainly not aware of his surroundings."
Grismer said he cut open Wifladt's shirt to check for hidden injuries. The man's "wounds were not obvious," said Grismer, other than a scratch on his forehead.
Paramedics used spineboards to carry the two men down from the third-floor apartment.
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Grismer and others got Wifladt to the foyer of the apartment complex where they put him onto a stretcher, wrapped him in blankets, and went to the ambulance.
When the paramedics arrived at the hospital and unwrapped Wifladt from his blankets, Grismer saw what he called a "halo," or blood spot.
Grismer was also busy with Digness, who wouldn't lay still in his hospital bed.
"Assistance was required to control him," he said. "Colin was saying, 'Let's go, are you ready, let's go' … It was odd."
Avoiding contamination not a 'priority': defence
An RCMP officer also testified on Friday. Const. Keith Staudinger appeared by video conference in to provide testimony from Ottawa.
King's defence lawyer Jay Bran asked both Staudinger and Grismer if they wore foot coverings while in the apartment.
They did not. Bran also asked Grismer if anyone asked for his gloves as part of the investigation. Grismer said no one had.
"Contaminating crime scenes is probably not your priority to worry about," Bran told Grismer, on cross-examination. "Your concern is to get to those people and give them medical treatment."
Bran told CBC that with his line of questions he was suggesting that RCMP and other first responders didn't take steps to keep the scene free from contamination, but that doesn't mean they did anything wrong.
"Obviously walking into a situation where there are people in medical distress, that should be their priority," he said. "But certainly it's helpful for the court to know what steps they did take."
The possibility of contamination may become an argument for the defence if DNA evidence against King becomes part of the trial.
Court adjourned early
Other firefighters were waiting in the hallway to testify in the afternoon, but they didn't get a chance because Crown attorneys called for an adjournment at about 1:30 p.m.
Bran told CBC they adjourned shortly after the prosecutors gave him new information about the case the lawyers would need time to deal with.
The trial is scheduled to continue on Monday.