A friend of James Swift who was with him the night he was stabbed to death testified she was also stabbed and left for dead in a ditch.
Colton Lischka and Ashtin Ritzand are charged with second-degree murder in the Aug. 29, 2022, death of James Swift. They’re also charged with theft and the attempted murder of Virginia Belhumeur.
Belhumeur testified Monday as a Crown witness in the third week of Lischka and Ritzand’s judge-alone trial at Court of King’s Bench before Justice Michael Tochor.
Belhumeur said she was stabbed four times in the neck during a confrontation at a rural intersection near Wanuskewin Heritage Park and then thrown into the same ditch as Swift, who was also stabbed.
“I watched one of my best friends die right in my arms,” Belhumeur told court. “His whole mouth filled up with blood and his eyes rolled back and I knew he was dead.”
She said she waited for her attackers to leave, then got up and flagged down a passing motorist to get help.
Belhumeur’s testimony is expected to continue Monday afternoon and into Tuesday morning.
Charges of murder and attempted murder against Anthony Burley were stayed in 2023, replaced with a charge of being an accessory to murder after the fact.
