Jury finds man guilty of manslaughter
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/04/2019 (2549 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A jury has rejected the self-defence claim of a man who stabbed another man on Birdtail Sioux First Nation, convicting him of manslaughter.
In doing so, the jury found the accused not guilty of second-degree murder.
The verdict was delivered Friday afternoon in Brandon Court of Queen’s Bench, approximately a day after deliberations began.
“Members of the jury, you say that you find the accused, Dakota Catlyn Jordan Pratt, not guilty of second-degree murder but guilty to manslaughter. Do you all agree with this verdict?” the court clerk asked after the foreman delivered the verdict.
“Yes,” the jury replied in unison.
Pratt, 28, stood trial for second-degree murder in relation to the death of Vincent Bunn, who was found dead on the steps of his aunt’s home in Birdtail Sioux First Nation in the early morning hours of Sept. 2, 2016.
Pratt admitted to stabbing Bunn, but in an act of self-defence, testifying during trial that Bunn came into his room and stabbed him in the head when he was sleeping while threatening to kill him.
The two got in a struggle that spilled out of the home onto the front deck, where Bunn was ultimately stabbed to death.
An autopsy revealed Bunn had sustained 13 sharp-force injuries and 32 blunt-force injuries in the attack, with the fatal wound being a puncture through the heart.
Defence argued the evidence lined up with Pratt’s story, with injuries on his head and hand being documented upon his arrest.
A trail of DNA and blood samples taken from the room of the initial incident and outside matched that of Pratt’s and the sequence of events he disclosed to police.
Bunn also had a propensity for violence, Pratt’s lawyer argued, pointing to Bunn’s Facebook page sprinkled with images of him holding various weapons, such as a sawed-off shotgun and a machete.
The Crown, on the other hand, argued that on this particular day, Bunn was a major source of anger and upset for Pratt, stemming from an argument he had earlier that day with his girlfriend.
Pratt was jealous of Bunn’s relationship with his girlfriend as he believed she was cheating on him with Bunn.
Pratt’s lawyers have requested a pre-sentence report and Pratt, who has remained in custody since allegedly breaching court orders last year, will be sentenced at a later date.
» edebooy@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @erindebooy