Hamilton teens thought drug robbery would be easy before friend’s stabbing death
About a week before a drug robbery-gone-wrong that led to the stabbing death of a 17-year-old Hamilton boy, the victim and two of his friends bought some cocaine off Dawson Farr.
The 17-year-old and his friend, Jacob Vogl, had done this before, court heard, but this was the first time Ayden Murphy saw Farr. They met in the same place the fatal stabbing would happen Dec. 17, 2018, the end of Pinewarbler Drive near Bruleville Park, and they purchased about one gram of cocaine.
Farr, who was 18 at the time, looked like he didn't know what he was doing at all," Murphy would later tell police in statement. It was soon after that the three teen friends hatched a plan to rob Farr of about $850-worth of cocaine - 14 grams. They thought it would be easy.
Now Farr is on trial facing charges of manslaughter, assault with a weapon and drug trafficking. The 17-year-old victim, who cannot be named because of a publication ban, died after he was stabbed twice in the chest.
On that day, just like they'd planned, Murphy was the lookout, he said in court Wednesday. He hid in the trees with a view of the park path, where they expected Farr to walk, and of the white Kia Forte, where Vogl sat behind the wheel and the teen victim in the front passenger seat.
Murphy had a small knife with black and red tape on the handle in his pocket, he said, but says he never pulled it out. He later noticed it had fallen out of his pocket. In the car the teens had an extendable baton and a BB gun they bought from a friend in Dunnville and then painted black.
We weren't going to use weapons unless we had to," Murphy said.
Defence attorney Jeffrey Manishen has suggested multiple times that the weapons were used - something Murphy and Vogl denied.
Instead, Murphy said, on the day of the robbery they were surprised to see Farr - who he referred to only as the fat guy" in his police statement - was not alone. They didn't know the other man, but court has heard it was Tae Yoon (Dan) Park, who is jointly charged in the manslaughter. His trial is set to begin May 31.
The guys got into the back seat of the car and Murphy walked over. The plan was to pin Farr in by moving the seats back and trap him with child locks. Murphy was supposed to open the door from the outside and pull Farr out.
When Murphy walked up he says he made eye contact with the 17-year-old and saw him move his seat back. Then as he took steps toward the back of the car a scuffle broke out. Vogl jumped out and opened the back door to let out Farr. Vogl said they'd been stabbed and tried to chase Farr, who tried to stab at Vogl several times, Murphy said. Park got out. The 17-year-old collapsed face-first on the road.
Murphy testified that Park held a knife in one hand, cradling an extendable baton and a see-through bag (possibly with the cocaine). In the other hand, Murphy said Park pointed what looked like a gun at Murphy, who fell to the ground. Then the suspects ran off.
But just as with Vogl, Manishen questioned Murphy on inconsistencies. In his police statement, Murphy said he opened the back passenger-side door and let out Farr. He also made no mention of Park holding the knife or bag of cocaine. Manishen asked more than once whether Murphy had spoken with Vogl, since their stories now line up. Murphy denied this.
This was a very traumatizing event to happen and I've had two years to think about it," he said. Everything I'm telling you today is the truth."
Farr's co-accused briefly took the stand at the end of Wednesday. Park said he and Farr worked together at a restaurant and lived with two others in a house on Swallow Crescent, near the scene. His testimony continues Thursday.
Nicole O'Reilly is a Hamilton-based reporter covering crime and justice for The Spectator. Reach her via email: noreilly@thespec.com