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CTV News
22-05-2025
- CTV News
Key witness testifies in Adam Drake murder trial
Atlantic Watch Nicole Zakhour, who was with Adam Drake the night of battle rapper Pat Stay's murder, takes the stand.
CTV News
22-05-2025
- CTV News
Woman with Adam Drake the night he's accused of killing Pat Stay testifies at trial
Nicole Zakhour, who was with Adam Drake the night of battle rapper Pat Stay's murder, takes the stand. The jury in Adam Drake's second-degree murder trial has seen a lot of video so far, both from the Yacht Club Social – where Pat Stay was fatally stabbed – and the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel before and after the killing. But no one had officially identified Adam Drake in those videos until Thursday. Nicole Zakhour said she was with her best friend the evening of Sept. 3, 2022, when she received an Instagram message from Drake, asking her to go out for drinks. She hadn't seen Drake in three or four years prior to that night, she said, but described him as a longtime friend and acquaintance. She agreed and the pair met up with Drake and his friend at the downtown Halifax hotel's bar before heading out. Zakhour testified after learning a local beer garden was closing, the group of four ended up at the Yacht Club Social. Video showed they entered the bar at 10:32 p.m. She said they had been drinking earlier in the evening and continued taking shots at the club. Upon direct examination from the Crown, she told the jury she's always known who Pat Stay was and there was always a 'good energy vibe' between them. She crossed paths with him at the club that night, testifying about exchanging hellos with the battle rapper, but that was the last conversation she had with him. Stay's partner, who has sat through the duration of the trial in the public gallery, started to cry seeing the video footage of him walking up to Zakhour, moments before he was stabbed. Stay appeared to then walk past Zakhour to greet others. Zakhour said all she remembers is a 'fight' break out, but that it was a blur because it all happened so fast. 'I just saw Pat kind of tumble over and fall to the ground, so I don't know what had happened at that time,' she told the jury. 'I thought he got punched.' She testified a man in an orange hoodie had punched Stay but that she didn't know who it was at the time. But she didn't see Stay get stabbed, saying, 'If I had known something had happened, I wouldn't have been able to continue my night.' After seeing Stay head for the front exit, she testified her group of four went out the back door of the club and they walked back to the hotel where Drake was staying. During cross-examination by Drake's lawyer, Michael Lacy, Zakhour said they were not a couple and repeated that it was a good night – and that Drake's demeanour didn't change after leaving the club. After a brief stop at the hotel, she and two others continued on to another bar but Drake stayed back at the hotel. She told the jury she didn't see any blood on Drake and agreed with Lacy that ending up at the Yacht Club Social that night was 'random.' She told the trial she didn't talk to Drake at any point after that night. He was arrested six days later and faces a charge of second-degree murder in Stay's death. Drake has pleaded not guilty. About five weeks have been set aside for the trial. Pat Stay Pat Stay. (Source: Panada Pizza/Facebook) For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CBC
22-05-2025
- CBC
Jury hears more details about the night Pat Stay died
Social Sharing More details are emerging about the chaotic scene in a downtown Halifax bar the night Dartmouth battle rapper Pat Stay was fatally stabbed. The jury trial of Adam Drake, the 34-year-old charged with second-degree murder in Stay's death, is now in its second week in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Dartmouth. Several people have testified that they recognized Stay and saw him staggering through the Yacht Club Social with a large bloodstain forming on his shirt early on the morning of Sept. 4, 2022. Brennan Hartling, a provincial enforcement officer, said he could see the colour draining from Stay's face. The compliance officer and two police constables were already in the bar before the stabbing occurred, investigating a complaint from the previous week that the bar was exceeding its capacity of 195 people. Hartling said he counted 188 people the night of the stabbing. He was on his way to the front of the nightclub to compare numbers with bar staff when he noticed the commotion. Hartling and one of the police officers followed Stay outside, where he stood for a time in the middle of Lower Water Street, trying to maintain his balance. The 36-year-old then staggered back to the curb where he collapsed next to a planter. The second police officer had by then gone back into the club to order it to shut down. The jury has now seen several replays of a video showing the moment when the stabbing occurred. It shows Stay making his way to the VIP section at the back of the bar. He has his back to the camera, so the actual stabbing is not shown. But Stay turns to his right and a large stain can be seen on his chest. Someone can be seen coming out of the crowd behind Stay and sucker-punching him, knocking him to the floor. He gets up and staggers out of range of the camera. Bar co-owner Kevin MacLean testified Monday, describing the scene in the bar that night and tracking his own movements on the video. Immediately following the stabbing, MacLean said he went to the front of the bar, where he instructed the DJ to turn down the music. The video also showed someone, later identified as a security guard, with a mop and a bucket near where Stay fell inside the bar. MacLean testified the man appeared to be cleaning blood from the floor but said he didn't order him to do so. The court heard the police officers inside the club at the time of the stabbing recognized a man they considered a person of interest and sent out word that he was arrestable. Two patrol officers who set up a checkpoint on Quinpool Road intercepted and arrested that man, who was eventually charged with murder. The jury has not been told what became of the murder charge. Wednesday's court session ended with testimony from two employees of the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel, including one who worked at the front desk. She testified that Drake checked in on Sept. 2, paying cash for a room after showing up without a reservation. The second employee was a loss prevention officer who narrated security video taken from six of the hotel's cameras. They showed people moving around the hotel, including Drake.
CTV News
20-05-2025
- CTV News
How a ‘very normal night' turned into a murder investigation at Halifax nightclub
The owner of the nightclub where battle rapper Pat Stay was stabbed takes the stand at the Adam Drake murder trial.
CBC
16-05-2025
- CBC
Why so many are following the Pat Stay murder trial
Pat Stay, known as the Sucka-Free Boss in the battle rap world, was fatally stabbed in 2022. The man accused of killing him is now on trial. The CBC's Aly Thomson explains why the case is so high profile.
