Victim of fatal stabbing was alone for 15 minutes after collapsing in alley
Fifteen minutes. That's how long Tyquan Brown lay alone in an alleyway off Sherman Avenue North, near Barton Street East, after being fatally stabbed not long after midnight on May 31, 2019.
Video captured from the back of Barton Street East business Wheel Wizards shows Brown, in shadow, running toward the building and then turning back and collapsing in the middle of the alleyway. The surveillance video was played for the jury Tuesday at the first-degree murder trial for Brown's alleged killer, Dylon Duarte.
Brown collapsed at 12:20 a.m. He doesn't move and there is no one visible anywhere near him. At 12:26 a.m., a police cruiser can be seen pulling up on Sherman. But it's not until 12:32 a.m. that Const. Sean Anderson pulls into the alley and runs out. Anderson can be seen calling for assistance and turning Brown over to check his pulse. Soon after, more police and emergency services show up.
The trial has previously heard that Duarte and Brown didn't know each other. But Brown attended the same small gathering at 180 Sherman Ave. N. on May 30 as Hope VanKoughnett, Duarte's ex-girlfriend.
The pair had an on-and-off relationship and shared a young son. They had talked about getting back together, but that morning they argued and VanKoughnett said he couldn't live with her. In the hours after, Duarte was trying to find her and repeatedly called and messaged.
Anthony Plaenk, the boyfriend of one of VanKoughnett's sisters, previously testified that he thought VanKoughnett was drunk and in trouble so he helped Duarte find her, driving him in his red Volkswagen Jetta. Plaenk said they found the group from the gathering outside on Sherman and a confrontation ensued in which Duarte was shouting. In the chaos of the scene, without realizing anyone had been stabbed, Plaenk fled with Duarte and others in his car.
In court Tuesday, the jury heard from several Hamilton police officers, including the forensic officer that documented evidence at the multiple scenes, and a tactical officer that rappelled down an embankment off Nichol Street - near where Duarte allegedly fled - and found discarded items.
Duarte's defence attorney, Stephen White, questioned the officers about the thoroughness of the investigation and preservation of evidence. This included questions about whether witnesses could have been messaging each other before talking to police, how well the scenes were contained and why police did not send a knife found on Imperial Street for forensic testing.
Sgt. Richard Wouters, who was a homicide detective at the time of the murder and is the file co-ordinator on the Duarte case, said that knife was 500 metres away from the crime scene and was not in the direction of travel for those involved.
Police never found a murder weapon, he said. But the prosecution believes it was a large knife that went missing from Plaenk's residence. Wouters maintained the crime scenes were well-guarded and thoroughly canvassed for witnesses and video evidence.
Det. Const. Christopher Gagen, from the tech crime unit, testified about Duarte's Samsung cellphone, which had to be sent away to be unlocked. Police accessed calls logs and text messages from the days leading up to and just after the stabbing.
This included string of texts sent from his phone to his mom, aunt and other women about being suicidal. He called what happened an accident.
The last message on his phone was a draft that was never sent, saved at 3:15 p.m. - a minute before his arrest. It was to his ex-girlfriend, VanKoughnett: I hope I die and it brings you happiness."
Nicole O'Reilly is a Hamilton-based reporter covering crime and justice for The Spectator. Reach her via email: noreilly@thespec.com