THUNDER BAY – The Crown argues the evidence, taken in its totality, shows Dustin Moffatt is the only person who could have stabbed two teens during an altercation in 2021, but Moffatt’s lawyer says the Crown’s case has reasonable doubt "written all over it."
Crown and defense counsel presented closing submissions to Justice Bruce Fitzpatrick in a Thunder Bay Courtroom on Thursday in the second-degree murder trial for the 33-year-old accused.
Moffatt pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in connection with the stabbing death of 16-year-old Kody Furioso and not guilty to aggravated assault connected to the stabbing of a 17-year-old male that left him with a collapsed lung.
The two youth sustained injuries during an altercation with an individual near the James Street Swing Bridge just after midnight on June 29, 2021.
Following the altercation, which was described by witnesses as a fight, Kody and the youth fled the area on their bikes. Kody collapsed under the James Street overpass from a stab wound to the stomach. He died from his injuries in hospital later that night.
Throughout the trial that opened on Monday, the Crown called 10 witnesses to testify and submitted numerous video recordings as evidence.
Surveillance footage shows the altercation taking place between the two youth and a person in dark clothing with long sleeves and white-soled shoes.
Additional video evidence, including body-worn camera footage of responding Thunder Bay Police Services officers, shows an unresponsive Moffatt located in the area shortly after the altercation took place.
Moffatt was transported to hospital by EMS and treated for signs of an opioid overdose.
Crown attorney Serge Hamel argued in his closing submission that Moffatt should be convicted on the charges because he was found in the area and he matched the description given by the second youth who was stabbed during the altercation.
“When you look at all the evidence as a whole, it proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Moffatt is the man in black and committed the stabbing,” Hamel said.
Hamel referred to descriptions of the perpetrator by the second youth stabbed during statements he gave to police as well as his testimony before the court earlier in the week.
The youth said he and Kody were attacked by a "short white guy" with short hair, which he said matches what Moffatt looked like at the time.
“Another descriptor used by [the youth] consistently was the man in black was a ‘crackhead,’” Hamel said. “Mr. Moffatt was found in a state that police and EMS suspected was a drug overdose.”
According to the youth, the altercation arose because the man in the area accused them of stealing his cigarettes.
One of the paramedics who transported Moffatt to the hospital testified that when he regained consciousness, he kept asking for his cigarettes and became agitated.
The paramedic also testified to Moffatt saying: "They are trying to frame me."
“The attendant thought that was odd and [Moffatt] seemed to know something had happened. That is indicative that Mr. Moffatt knew he was in trouble and trying to cast the blame on someone else. Why else would he say that?” Hamel said.
Hamel added that it suggests Moffatt may not have been overdosing at the time of the fight.
“When you look at the video, there is only one man in black,” he said. “If there was a second one, it would make sense the yelling and the fighting would attract someone’s attention. If he knows something is happening, perhaps he is not passed out.”
Video surveillance shows the individual dressed in black returning to a shaded area near the bridge following the fight.
Hamel said it is the Crown’s theory that Moffatt was the person in black involved in the altercation with the two teens.
“When he walks back to the bridge and disappears into the darkness, he removes his jacket, and that is where he consumes drugs under the bridge, and collapses where he is found at 12:40 a.m. [by police],” Hamel said.
But Hamel did recognize that video footage of the altercation is not continuous. Following the altercation, there is a 30- to 40-second time jump in the video and an individual appears on screen riding a bike away from the area.
Other video footage showed someone riding a bike near a gas station in Fort William First Nation at the approximate time the fight was taking place. Hamel suggested that person on the bike could be the individual who suddenly appears in the surveillance footage after the time skip.
“The lack of continuous videos is an issue for the court to consider,” Hamel said.
Defense counsel Alison Craig argued that the Crown’s case is based purely on circumstantial evidence and should raise considerable doubt as to Moffatt’s guilt.
“I have never stood up in a murder trial and said with confidence you got the wrong guy, but I am saying that now,” Craig said. “Your honour should certainly have a reasonable double that Mr. Moffatt was responsible for the injuries on the two victims.”
Craig argued that the youth’s description of the perpetrator does not in fact match what Moffatt looked like when he was found by police, including his height being taller than what the youth said, and the clothes he was wearing.
“We know from the video that the perpetrator was wearing long black sleeves,” Craig said. “Mr. Moffatt was found in a t-shirt. The suggestion that because the shirt had black and red is illogical. The video shows he was not wearing a t-shirt.”
Craig also referred to the issue of the cigarettes as a red herring, because Moffatt was found with a full pack of cigarettes in his pockets and the paramedics testified to it not being uncommon for someone coming out of an overdose to want cigarettes.
Video evidence also showed Moffatt pushing a bike and walking toward the Swing Bridge the evening of June 28, 2021 with another individual.
Moffatt appears to leave the bike in some bushes next to the bridge. Further video evidence showed someone leaving the area on a bike just before midnight.
According to Craig, the second individual walking with Moffatt appears to match the person in black seen in the video fighting with the two teens, particularly the white-soled shoes.
A person matching that same description is recorded on video near the pedestrian bridge at the end of Brown Street riding a bike away at approximately 12:15 a.m.
The defense’s theory was that someone else was present in the area and was the one involved in the altercation with Kody and the other youth.
Craig referred to video footage of the altercation and what appears to be movement in a shaded area where Moffatt was found, which she said is likely Moffatt who was already overdosing when the teens were stabbed.
“According to the Crown, it must be that Mr. Moffatt stabbed these two boys, had the foresight to dispose of the murder weapon who knows where, take off his jacket, and despite having the foresight to get rid of the murder weapon and jacket, to use drugs and overdose right there. It doesn’t make any sense,” Craig said.
“This has reasonable doubt written all over it.”
Fitzpatrick said he would like time to consider all the evidence and will return in the new year with a decision.
