A Calgary father says he’s struggling with the emotional toll the lengthy trial for the men accused of swarming and killing his son is having on him.
“It’s unreal. I’m numb. I’m completely numb after five weeks,” Dale Hird said.
Franz Cabrera, Jordan Liao, Joch Pouk and Assmar Shlah are all on trial, accused of the second-degree murder of 18-year-old Lukas Strasser-Hird.
A fifth man–Nathan Gervais–is charged with first-degree murder. He went missing weeks before the trial. A warrant remains out for his arrest.
READ MORE: Canada-wide warrant issued for Calgary man accused in Lukas Strasser-Hird swarming death
Strasser-Hird was beaten, kicked and stabbed outside of a southwest bar on Nov. 23, 2013. He died several hours later in hospital.
The prosecution alleges the four accused waited for Strasser-Hird, then swarmed him-beating, kicking and stabbing him.
READ MORE: Calgary man involved in swarming death of Lukas Strasser-Hird testifies against former friends
“I try to think about the good times. It’s very hard. It’s very hard. My son meant everything to me, my one and only son, my first-born child and I just try to distance myself from it. It’s a horror story going on in there,” Hird said.
Hird said he is hoping for justice in the trial.
READ MORE: ‘He was screaming for them to stop’: friend of Lukas Strasser-Hird describes swarming attack
To add to his frustration, three of the accused (Pouk, Shlah and Liao) remain out on bail.
“It’s disgusting they’ve been let out on bail and they’re pretty much mocking our family by joking around and laughing like this is no big deal,” Hird said.
The prosecution is expected to wrap up its case early this week. An expert in digital forensic examination and the retrieval of data from computers, cellphones and data storage devices will testify Monday afternoon.
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Hird can only hope he will get justice for his son’s brutal death.
“It’s obvious what happened. My son didn’t fall on a knife and beat himself to death, but they’re all trying to minimize it.”