Witness's ex-girlfriend testifies he showed her a knife the day after Probert attack

The ex-girlfriend of a man who testified he saw a boy stab Chelsie Probert says her former boyfriend showed her a knife the day after the attack matching one entered as evidence in the case.

The woman was testifying Thursday at the second-degree murder trial of a 17-year-old boy accused of stabbing Probert on a path near Farrell Street in Dartmouth, N.S., on June 6, 2017. Probert was taken to hospital, where she later died.

The boy, who was 16 when he was charged, cannot be named due to his age. He has pleaded not guilty in the case, which is being heard in Halifax youth court before a judge alone.

The woman's ex-boyfriend, now 20, is the Crown's main witness in the case.

He testified earlier this week that he and the accused were hanging out on the evening of the attack and the boy approached Probert and tried to rob her. But when she didn't take him seriously, he stabbed her while holding a knife in one hand and a corkscrew in the other, the witness testified.

Orange-handled knife

On Thursday, the 19-year-old woman told the court that she met her boyfriend and the accused at a Dartmouth bus terminal the day after the attack and was initially confused because the two were wearing each other's clothes.

Later, when she was alone with her boyfriend, he told her he wanted to talk to her about what happened on the path the night before, but he had trouble getting the words out, court heard.

Under cross-examination, the woman told the court she remembered her boyfriend taking an orange-handled knife out of his pocket. She said she didn't know whether it belonged to him or the accused. A knife matching that description, as well as a tire reamer, has been entered as evidence in the case.

She also testified her boyfriend gave her a bag with two pairs of shoes belonging to him and the accused.

The woman admitted she and her boyfriend were nearing the end of a troubled relationship at the time — one in which he would often lie to her.

Credibility attacked

Lawyers for the accused have attacked the credibility of the Crown's main witness, forcing him to admit he lied to his parents and police about what happened the night of Probert's death.

Defence lawyers have suggested in court that the witness himself stabbed Probert and admitted it to an associate. That associate told the court he and the witness were in a cab after an attempted bank fraud when the man admitted to stabbing Probert.

The associate is a convicted fraudster who is awaiting sentencing on new fraud charges and is a self-admitted violent person. He said his surety, a man in his 40s, had an obsession with the youth charged in the murder.

The Crown suggested the associate pinned the murder on the main witness as a favour to his surety.

The defence has begun presenting its case now that the Crown has wrapped up.

The trial resumes Friday.