Trial begins for 2 men charged with murdering Saskatoon man, stabbing his friend

Two men charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder are on trial in a Saskatoon courtroom.

Ashtin Ritzand and Colton Lischka are accused of killing 40-year-old James Edward Swift on Aug. 29, 2022, on a grid road just north of Saskatoon. They are also charged with trying to kill Virginia Belhumeur, who was a passenger in the car with Swift, and stealing her cellphone.

The pair's judge-alone trial at Court of King's Bench began Monday before Justice Michael Tochor.

• 3rd man charged with murder in violent death of Saskatoon man

At the time, RCMP said Swift and a woman — later identified as Belhumeur — were in a car with three men when the altercation happened. It's not clear what triggered it, but Swift was killed and left at a rural intersection near Wanuskewin Heritage Park. Belhumeur was stabbed in the neck and also left at the intersection.

She recovered and, according to Crown prosecutor Paul Scott, is expected to testify at the trial.

RCMP officers who testified on Monday described arriving at the scene and finding Swift dead in the ditch and Belhumeur grievously injured.

Cpl. Sawyer Semenoff said officers were able to locate the white Honda Civic used by the suspects. Two were arrested in the city, and the third turned himself in.

The trial is scheduled to last three weeks.