A murder trial for four of the five people accused of swarming and killing a Calgary teen in 2013 continued Tuesday as a friend of the victim testified in court.
One of Lukas Strasser-Hird’s close friends testified the swarming attack on his friend happened very quickly.
Constantin Matei painted a graphic picture of the brutal assault on the 18-year-old man.
“He was getting pushed down and beaten up and punched and kicked,” Matei said. “They were taking turns…beating him up.”
Strasser-Hird was beaten, kicked and stabbed outside of a southwest Calgary bar on Nov. 23, 2013. He died several hours later in hospital.
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.
READ MORE: ‘It’s a horror story in there,’ father says as Strasser-Hird swarming trial enters 5th week
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Matei said he tried to get to Strasser-Hird to help but was blocked.
“I couldn’t do anything about it,” Matei said. “He was covered in blood…I couldn’t recognize him at all.”
Natasha Rogers, an EMT who responded to the scene, also testified about the dire condition Strasser-Hird was in following the attack.
“He was obviously in very critical condition when we got there,” Rogers said. “His face was so beaten…completely swollen…he was missing teeth.”
She testified that even with his Alberta Drivers Licence for reference, they had to mark him as an unknown male as “his face was unrecognizable.”
Court continued with testimony from an expert forensic pathologist.
READ MORE: Canada-wide warrant issued for Calgary man accused in Lukas Strasser-Hird swarming death
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.
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