Crown calls last witness as Saskatoon murder trial for death of James Swift shifts to defence evidence
Colton Lischka and Ashtin Ritzand on trial for 2nd-degree murder in 2022 death of James Swift
Defence lawyers for two men on trial for second-degree murder continued pressing a Crown witness Tuesday for inconsistencies in her statements about how her friend James Swift died.
Crown witness Virginia Belhumeur wrapped up her testimony on Tuesday afternoon after both defence lawyers cross-examined her. The lawyers for the co-accused now have the opportunity to call witnesses in the trial at Court of King's Bench in Saskatoon.
Colton Lischka and Ashtin Ritzand are charged with second-degree murder in the Aug. 29, 2022, death of James Swift. They're also charged with theft and the attempted murder of Belhumeur.
Charges of murder and attempted murder against Anthony Burley were stayed in 2023, replaced with a charge of being an accessory to murder after the fact. His case is still making its way through the courts.
Belhumeur started testifying Monday in the third week of Lischka and Ritzand's judge-alone trial before Justice Michael Tochor.
Long-time friends Belhumeur and Swift first met the three men charged in the case when Swift was hit by their car outside the Hose and Hydrant Brew Pub. That chance encounter set off a series of events leading to a fatal confrontation along country road on the city's outskirts.
Belhumeur told court Swift was stabbed and tossed into a ditch before the attackers turned on her. She testified she was stabbed four times in the neck and then thrown into the same ditch as her friend.
Lischka's lawyer Nicholas Stooshinoff and Ritzand's lawyer Blaine Beaven both zeroed in on conflicting details in how Belhumeur recounted the events to police and the court.
"You did not see who stabbed [Swift]?" Stooshinoff said.
"Correct," Belhumeur said.
She said she was in the car and distracted by Burley, so she didn't see Swift get stabbed. When Burley testified as a Crown witness earlier in the trial, he said he did not see who stabbed Swift.
Belhumeur was asked to explain why she named both accused as her attacker in different statements and why she told police the attacker wore a white shirt, but later said it was black.
"Why did you say Colton was wearing a black shirt?" Stooshinoff said.
"It was dark in the car.… I don't know," Belhumeur said. "What I know is they killed my friend and tried to kill me."
"And you're prepared to say anything to get them convicted, correct?" Stooshinoff said.
"That is not true," Belhumeur said.
The trial continues Wednesday.
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