A Winnipeg man accused of stabbing a bus driver acted in self-defence, his lawyer said in his closing address to the jury on Wednesday.
Defence lawyer Evan Roitenberg told the court that bus driver Irvine Jubal Fraser instigated the fight with the defendant Bryan Kyle Thomas.
“Who was the first to raise this to the level of physicality?” Roitenberg asked jurors. “Did Brian offer a hint of aggression?”
Roitenberg also noted the “startling size difference” between Fraser and Thomas, sometimes referring to the two as “big guy” and “little guy.”
Due to a lack of evidence linking Thomas to a murder weapon, Roitenberg argued Fraser was the one to produce some sort of blade.
Roitenberg pointed the jury to the security footage video moments before Fraser stood up from his seat. He told the jury to listen for what sounds like Fraser going into a compartment.
He then instructed the jury to watch the footage just before the pair moved out of view of the camera. He argued a shadow appears to show something in Fraser’s hand, suggesting Fraser dropped it before Thomas picked it up.
The defence lawyer did not refute the claim that his client killed the bus driver.
“Brian Thomas caused the death of Irvine Thomas,” Roitenberg told the jury.
Crown attorney Keith Eyrikson doesn’t believe Thomas acted in self-defence.
In his closing argument prior to Roitenberg’s, Eyrikson told jurors Thomas was not afraid of Fraser, pointing to the video that shows Thomas taunting the bus driver after being asked to leave at least 25 times.
“This is anger, not fear,” he said.
WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS CONTENT THAT MAY BE DISTURBING TO SOME VIEWERS. Security camera video showing the last minutes of bus driver Irvine Jubal Fraser’s life was played for a jury in court Tuesday.
Thomas has already decided he was going to use a knife before Fraser stepped off the bus, Eyrikson told the jury.
Eyrikson admitted the bus driver should have been “more patient and less aggressive,” but that doesn’t justify the actions of Thomas.
“The accused wanted him outside so he could hurt him,” he told court.
Thomas was arrested and charged with second-degree murder after Fraser was stabbed and killed in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2017.
Thomas was the final passenger on Fraser’s bus. Video surveillance from inside the bus shows Thomas asking the driver for a ride somewhere nearby.
Fraser demanded Thomas get off the bus multiple times. The pair then got into a heated argument before Fraser grabbed Thomas and threw him off the bus.
Once outside the bus, the video shows Thomas beginning to throw punches, before Fraser went after him, at which time the pair move outside of viewing range.
Thomas was spotted later that morning by police crossing the Red River and was arrested.
The jury is expected to begin deliberations as early as Thursday.
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