Witness described 'frantic' and 'reckless' scene following bush party shooting

‘We heard what sounded like a gunshot’ A witness testified at the bush party murder trial, describing the moments after the victim was shot. CTV London’s Nick Paparella reports.

On Thursday, Maya Pluchowski resumed with her testimony telling the jury about the moments after an 18-year-old Western University student was shot and killed.

She said she was at the bush party off of Pack Road in southwest London on July 30 of 2021 with one of the accused, Emily Altmann.

She said that after an argument and harsh words with another female partygoer over a thrown drink, she left the wooded lot along with Altmann and a group of friends.

Pluchowski testified that Altmann told the group, "I have a friend named Candace that I'm going to call and she's going to beat her up."

She then continued, "I could tell she (Altmann) was intoxicated...the overreaction to the situation lead me to believe that alcohol was influencing that."

Pluchowski said her group drove around for a while and Altmann was on the phone calling people when they stopped.

She said Altmann joined others and went back to the bush party, but she remained behind with another friend in the car, testifying, "At one point we heard what sounded like a single gunshot."

Pluchowski then said that all of a sudden, Altmann and the group raced back to the vehicle, "They very quickly jumped into the car and Emily started the car immediately and drove off very frantically and they were just screaming, 'Oh my God."’

A shocked and confused Pluchowski then stated, "I asked what happened, and that's when Emily was like, 'I can't believe they shot him, I can't believe they shot him in the stomach.’"

She said as they drove away, "She (Altmann) was driving recklessly, she was texting, calling, not paying attention to where she was going."

Moments later, emergency crews arrived at the scene to find Josue Silva with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He was later pronounced dead in hospital.

The 22-year-old Altmann, along with the co-accused 23-year-old Carlos Guerra Guerra, have both pleaded not guilty to second degree murder and assault causing bodily harm.

Later in the day, Pluchowski told the jury that as they drove away from the scene, the group in Altmann's car were given instructions to stay quiet.

"She had read a text out loud to us that was, 'Tell your friends to keep their mouth shut...or else something will happen to them too,’” Pluchowski said, speaking about Altmann.

The witness said she was scared at the time, "I believed that dangerous people would potentially come harm me as well, if I co-operated with police."

Pluchowski would eventually speak with London police investigators about what she saw and heard on the night of the bush party over three years ago.

So far, there have been 11 days of evidence heard in the lengthy trial which is expected to last several more weeks.