Witness danced with Michael Parmer’s friends, ‘joked’ with bouncer to punch man in the head prior to fatal shooting

What did witnesses see when Michael Parmer was shot outside a Hamilton bar in 2005, what did they tell police then, and in 2017 when the investigation ramped up - and were they lying during any of these stages?

The nuances of a first-degree murder trial about a homicide nearly 16 years old were apparent in court Thursday, as lawyers struggled to coax a woman to resurrect her memory of an evening where she went from celebrating her 19th birthday to tending to the bloodied victim.

Sarah Guitard, who lived in Hamilton in 2005, testified via Zoom from Florida. She had been inside CDs Sports Bar that night, and had spoken with friends of Parmer's.

Assistant Crown attorney Andrew McLean showed her a statement she gave police when she said Parmer or his friends had asked her, and a girlfriend, to dance.

Did you interact with the victim that evening?" McLean asked.

No. They asked us to dance, that was it really. I don't remember."

Today, having read that statement, does that help you remember?"

No, I have no memory of that ... If that's what I gave in my statement, that is the truth."

The Crown's theory is that Parmer, 22, was shot because he flirted with the girlfriend of the accused, Jermaine Dunkley.

It's unclear at this point in the trial what role Guitard played in the events of the evening.

Evidence raised in court is that there was an argument in the parking lot, Guitard had been at the centre of it, and she joked to a bouncer that she would give him $100 to punch a man in the head - a man the defence suggested had been rude to Guitard.

She admits she initially denied knowing anything about the argument to police because she thought it would get her in trouble."

Dunkley's lawyer, Nathan Gorham, pressed her about evidence she had made a call on a pay phone moments before Parmer was shot, in which she said wait five minutes and you'll see what happens."

Is it possible you said that on the phone?" he asked.

I don't remember."

Gorham said she was being evasive" with her answers.

That's hitting a nerve with you, isn't it?" he said. You realize it makes you look bad."

No, it's not, I have nothing to hide," she said.

One of the few moments Guitard recalled was hearing the fatal gunshot, and then grabbing a shirt from a bouncer, that had been wrapped around his waist, and placing it under Parmer's head.

I noticed he was bleeding," she said. That is a pretty fresh memory."

Jon Wells is a Hamilton-based reporter and feature writer for The Spectator. Reach him via email: jwells@thespec.com