Bystander testifies to performing CPR on 16-year-old stabbing victim in Halifax

A bystander who performed CPR on a stabbing victim testified at a Halifax murder trial Wednesday.

Of the three Crown witnesses that were called to testify in a second-degree murder trial Wednesday, one described performing CPR for what seemed “like forever” on the victim who was “bleeding out.”

Ahmad Al Marrach, 16, was fatally stabbed in the Halifax Shopping Centre parkade on April 22, 2024.

Four youths have been charged in his death, including two who have already pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Two others face second-degree murder charges and the trial for one of them continued Wednesday in a Halifax courtroom.

The Crown and defence agree that the teenager on trial did not stab Al Marrach, but the Crown has told Judge Elizabeth Buckle that the evidence will show he is guilty of second-degree murder because he planned a group assault that he knew could lead to Al Marrach’s death. Anna Mancini, a defence lawyer, said few of the facts in the case are in dispute, but she said the evidence will show her client was “not a party to the offence of murder.” She argued her client did not intend to cause death or bodily harm that would likely lead to death.

Bystander performs CPR

A bystander, Raymond Pelrine, was one of the Crown witnesses called to the stand Wednesday. He told the court he intended to park his motorcycle before going into the mall, when he witnessed kids fighting. He said he beeped his horn in an attempt to stop the altercation.

After parking, Pelrine said he walked to the scene and saw someone on the ground. He said he did not witness the stabbing and another bystander who was on the phone with 911 encouraged him to start CPR.

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Pelrine told the court he tore Al Marrach’s shirt, started doing chest compressions, and that the teen was “bleeding out.”

The chest compressions felt like they took “forever,” Pelrine said, before a police officer tapped him on the shoulder and said they’d take over.

Youths arrested on transit bus

The trial also heard from a Halifax Transit driver and a passenger on the bus where two of the four youths were arrested after leaving the Mumford bus terminal.

The driver, Brendon Pettipas, described seeing police lights before he was stopped near the intersection of North St. and Gottingen St.

He said an officer boarded the bus and asked to open the rear bus door so another officer could board.

The passenger, Jeffrey Grant, described being on the bus when the two teens boarded at the Mumford terminal and sat beside him. The witness said one youth had blood on his hands and the other looked shaken.

Grant testified he heard one of the teens on the phone, describing a knife that was pulled at the mall. The teen talked about returning to the scene to retrieve a lost bag.

After that, he said the police stopped the bus and arrested the teens.

- With files from The Canadian Press

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