A Crown lawyer told a jury during opening arguments Wednesday that an iPod was part of the motive behind the murder of an Ottawa man who was stabbed to death while riding an OC Transpo bus on his way to his girlfriend's house two years ago.
The teen accused of killing Michael Oatway, 22, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and can not be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
According to Crown lawyer Paul McDermott, the accused, who was 17 at the time of the incident, got on the bus with his friends at about 11 p.m., Sept. 21, 2006. Someone in the group had a knife, which the accused allegedly demanded before approaching Oatway.
McDermott told the jury after getting a hold of the knife, the accused apparently approached Oatway and said: "Give me your iPod; Give me your iPod or you're going to get cut."
Oatway was stabbed in the chest. He allegedly stumbled up the aisle of the articulated bus and died shortly after. Part of the evidence in the case involves a butterfly knife, which is illegal in Canada, and was found right beside the bus after the attack.
McDermott told the jury even friends of the accused allegedly told him to chill and tried to pull him back during the attack. He said Oatway had no way out of the bus and was literally in the hands of the accused.
The Crown plans to bring an articulated bus to the courthouse so the jury can better picture the scene of the murder. The trial is expected to last three weeks.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Joanne Schnurr
