A teen testified that the man who was stabbed in Osoyoos last fall had created some tension at a house party beforehand, and that he handed his brother a knife before leaving the house.
Phillip Webber, 33, had randomly met a group of teenagers outside of the Owl Pub in Osoyoos prior to joining them at the house party on Oct. 15, 2014. Webber was stabbed later that night.
The identity of the 16-year-old accused of the stabbing is under a routine publication ban. The teen is currently on trial for one count of aggravated assault.
The then 18-year-old brother of the accused, who’s identity is also under a publication ban, testified Wednesday that he and his friends had never met Webber prior to seeing him outside of the Owl Pub that night when they were restocking on liquor for the night. The teen admitted it was awkward.
“From the get-go it was sketchy. I just didn’t have the right feeling about how old he was and just the way he looked. He didn’t seem like a happy-go-lucky sort of guy,” the brother of the accused testified.
“Especially going to a party where there’s three, four minors,” the brother said.
The 21-year-old who resided at the location of the house party invited Webber back to the residence. Things were going fine at the party for a while, the accused’s brother said, until an altercation broke out.
The brother said Webber called him names unprovoked and asked when he was going to “grow up.” Later the brother said Webber raised a fist to one of the girls at the party, and he heard the girl’s boyfriend say “I’m going to put your head through a wall,” to Webber.
The brother said that things calmed down after the altercation and those involved shook it off. Webber and another guest at the party later left to get cigarettes. When they didn’t return after awhile, the brother of the accused became worried. When the accused said he was going to search for his friends, his brother handed him a fishing knife.
“He said ‘well what do I need this for?” the brother said. “He’s my little brother and obviously I guess it was a stupid idea now.”
“He took it and I said ‘you never know.’” the brother said, adding that the accused looked confused when he was handed the knife.
“Were things that bad in Osoyoos?” Defence counsel James Pennington asked during cross examination.
“No, but they were that bad here (Penticton),” the accused’s brother said. “We’re used to that. We’re used to carrying around knives, we’re used to looking over our shoulders.”
The accused returned to the house and told his brother he had stabbed someone.
“He drops (the knife) and he drops to his knees and he’s crying,” the brother said. “I remember blood on (the accused).”
“That’s when I instantly started screaming my head off saying what’s going on? what’s going on?”
The trial is expected to continue Friday in Penticton Provincial Court.