Latest news with #ConstBradBenjamin
CTV News
27-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Pat Stay said ‘call the police' after being stabbed: agreed statement of facts
CONTENT WARNING Pat Stay said, 'Call the police,' as an officer approached him on a Halifax sidewalk after he was stabbed in 2022. But he didn't say what happened or who had injured him. Const. Brad Benjamin saw Stay stumble 50-to-60 feet down the road from the Yacht Club Social after 12:36 a.m. on Sept. 4, 2022, before collapsing on the sidewalk. That was part of what the jury learned on Tuesday, as Crown prosecutor Tanya Carter read an agreed statement of facts as part of Adam Drake's second-degree murder trial; that's essentially an agreement between Crown and defence lawyers, meaning the jury is to take those elements as the truth. Const. Benjamin, a Halifax police officer in plain clothes who approached Stay, flashed his badge and told Stay paramedics were on their way. According to the statement, he tried to keep Stay alert, asking him what happened, before rolling Stay over onto his back in an attempt to find a wound after seeing blood pool beneath him. Benjamin held Stay's head to try to help him breathe as he was gasping for air. Stay was pronounced dead as the result of a knife wound at the QEII Hospital at 1:23 a.m. on Sept. 4, 2022. The Crown alleges Adam Drake, who is charged with second-degree murder, stabbed Stay. His trial is now in its third week, but will break until Monday due to annual court conferences the rest of this week. Forensic officer testimony Two forensics officers also testified on Tuesday, including one who processed the scene the morning of and several days after Stay's death. Sgt. Trish Kennedy testified about a 'large amount' of what was believed to be blood inside the club, including tables, pillars, walls and the floor. She also testified about swabbing several areas leading to the back door of the club after finding red-staining spots in the hallway and on a stairwell. On Sept. 6, 2022, she testified, forensics officers heard voices but weren't sure where from. Eventually, they found three people inside an office in the building. The trial has previously heard two owners of the Yacht Club Social and an owner of the neighbouring distillery were inside. Kennedy said they were trying to retrieve video, but she asked them to leave the business and escorted them out. 'I was shocked anyone was in the office,' she said. Special Const. Katelyn Cherwonick, a civilian member of the forensic unit, told the trial she was called in at 2 a.m. to assist with processing two suspects who were in custody at the time. The trial has heard both were arrested for murder. It's not clear what happened in those cases. On one man's clothing, she identified red staining that was believed to be blood. Cherwonick testified she was also present for Stay's autopsy on the afternoon of Sept. 4. She said months later, on April 11, 2023, she was tasked with assisting another officer to process some coins and bills that were seized from Drake. During cross-examination, Drake's defence lawyer Michael Lacy asked Cherwonick if she was ever tasked with photographing or analyzing clothing from two other men. No, she said. Pat Stay Pat Stay. (Source: Panada Pizza/Facebook) For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CBC
27-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Jury in murder trial hears Pat Stay's last words
Pat Stay's last words were "Call the cops." The Dartmouth battle rapper had been stabbed at a bar in downtown Halifax early on the morning of Sept. 4, 2022. Security video from the bar shows him staggering away from the incident with a large bloodstain forming on his chest. After being stabbed, he is punched to the ground before getting up and stumbling out of range of the camera. Stay makes it to the front of the bar, the Yacht Club Social on Lower Water Street. He's shown weaving through the crowd, out onto the street. Const. Brad Benjamin is one of two plainclothes police officers who happened to be in the bar that night investigating complaints of liquor violations. Benjamin spotted Stay and followed him outside. He approached the musician just as Stay collapsed to the pavement. Benjamin flashed his badge to identify himself, and that's when Stay uttered his final words. These details are contained in an agreed statement of facts that were read into the record Tuesday at the jury trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court of Adam Drake, the man accused of killing Stay. Drake, 34, is charged with second-degree murder. Justice Scott Norton explained to the jury in a Dartmouth courtroom today that Drake's defence team is conceding the details contained in the statement, sparing the Crown the necessity of having to prove these elements. The trial is in its third week, but it is on a truncated schedule. The jury heard this week from two police witnesses who testified about evidence they collected. There are judicial meetings the rest of the week, so the trial will not resume until Monday. The trial is expected to run until mid-June.
