‘I loved him’: Ont. woman accused of boyfriend’s murder testifies, claims self-defence

Warning: This article contains disturbing descriptions of intimate partner violence and may be triggering to readers.

A woman accused of second-degree murder testified she acted in self-defence in the July 2024 stabbing of her former boyfriend inside his Newmarket apartment.

McKenzie Gill, 32, described the moment she killed Blake Bibby and the hours of drinking and arguing that led up to the violence.

Gill told the court she was victim of physical and verbal abuse by Bibby, 36, whom she stabbed in the heart after she said he became angry and rushed towards her on the night of July 14, 2024.

• Ont. woman accused of murder in boyfriend’s stabbing argues self-defence

Gill said she and Bibby had been drinking and arguing about seeing other people. Gill said Bibby was taunting her about a woman he had been with. She described her own behaviour as angry and at her limit, saying Bibby was being nasty and shaming her. After leaving the apartment. Gill said she returned and while Bibby was in the washroom Gill said she packed her belongings and told him she was leaving. Gill told the court Bibby became infuriated and was going to strangle her. She said he had previously threatened to “kill himself” with a knife.

Gill testified after being knocked to the ground she stood up in the kitchen area. Fearing for her safety, she said she grabbed a knife and as he continued towards her, she swung the knife at him. Gill testified as soon as she realized he had been stabbed; she pulled out the knife from his chest.

“I thought he was going to kill me,” Gill testified when asked by her lawyer Sherif Foda what happened and whether she meant to kill her on-again, off-again boyfriend.

“It was my intention to scare him and let me leave,” Gill explained, saying she was only trying to defend herself with the knife to keep Bibby from killing her.

Gill said she dropped the knife and ran for her purse and was followed each of their dogs. She said Bibby later stood up after she left the apartment.

• Woman accused of murder claims self defence in ex-boyfriend’s stabbing

Unaware he had been fatally wounded, Gill said she returned the dogs to the apartment and saw Bibby on the ground bleeding. She said she called 911 for help and grabbed a bedsheet to try to stop him from bleeding.

“I think he got into a fight,” Gill told the 911 dispatcher, to whom she described seeing “a lot of blood” and Bibby struggle to breathe. When asked by the dispatcher whether the person who hurt Bibby was still on scene, Gill said no.

After the 911 call was dropped, Gill was called back and asked to provide her name and information. Gill provided the name Amelia Shill. She said she lied because she was afraid and in a panic.

“I didn’t want any of this,” she told the court. She said she fled the scene and hid in an alleyway. “I was terrified that I wasn’t going to be believed that it was self-defence.”

Gill described a history of violence between them, saying she’d been choked by Bibby on at least five occasions. Gill said Bibby demeaned and threatened her over the course of their volatile two-year relationship that was marred by alcohol-fueled arguments and violence that ended the night Bibby died. Gill said Bibby often yelled and threatened her and said he’d harm himself. Bibby was found with several injuries including a stab wound to his shoulder a year prior to his death.

Gill is scheduled to continue her testimony Tuesday.

If you or someone you know is in an abusive or violent relationship, reach out for help by calling the ConnexOntario line for Simcoe County:

North Simcoe Crisis Line: 1-800-461-1750

South Simcoe Crisis Line: 1-800-987-0799