THUNDER BAY — Both the Crown and defense agree that Jesse Allen stabbing his 18-year-old brother Wayne Allen to death in front of their father is a bizarre case, but the disagreement at the heart of the second-degree murder trial is whether or not he had the intent to kill.
Closing submissions were presented to the jury in the second-degree murder trial for 40-year-old Jesse Allen in a Thunder Bay courtroom on Wednesday.
The trial opened last week and included six days of testimony about the events of Jan. 30, 2021 in a residence on Flicker Avenue in Manitouwadge.
Evidence presented throughout the trial revealed Jesse Allen stabbed Wayne Allen in the chest twice with a 9.5-centimetre buck knife in front of their father, Glenn Allen, and a family friend.
The post-mortem report revealed both of Wayne’s lungs were penetrated, as well as his heart, and the wounds would have resulted in his death within minutes.
According to testimony heard at trial, Jesse Allen did not speak prior to the attack, but after it occurred he allegedly said: ‘How do you like that dad, two birds with one stone.’ Jesse also repeatedly yelled: ‘I want my house,’ after the attack, as well as saying: ‘Wayne’s not dead, Wayne’s not dead.’
“Murder is strange, it is bizarre, it is weird to those of us disinclined to commit it. But the fact that an act is weird or strange or bizarre, does not negate what someone means to do,” said Crown attorney Katrina Van Kessel during her closing submission.
“Do not focus on how bizarre the act is. Focus on the fact of a fully operational mind knowing the consequences of the actions.”
Van Kessel told the jury that the evidence in the case points to Jesse Allen intending to kill Wayne or knowing that the injuries he inflicted would likely result in his death.
“What you mean and intend can be the work of a moment,” she said. “Intent can be found by systemically going through the evidence chronologically.”
The evidence cited by Van Kessel includes Jesse being described as acting normally prior to arriving at the Flicker Avenue residence and his behaviour following the attack.
The arresting Ontario Provincial Police officer testified that when Jesse was placed in the back of the police cruiser, he was calm and attentive. Van Kessel added that Jesse’s behaviour inside the home after the stabbing included full and complete sentences, not incoherent ramblings.
Testimony also revealed that Jesse and Glenn were smoking marijuana that morning, and while one first responder testified to hearing Glenn say Jesse was on meth, Van Kessel said there is no evidence of that.
“There is no reliable evidence of any other drug use by Jesse Allen,” she said. “Ask yourself what evidence do you have that these witnesses did not. Use your common sense. Note also that these observations are being made in a chaotic situation where they have only seconds to assess the situation.”
Van Kessel added the evidence shows that Jesse felt victimized and ignored by the people around him, which was demonstrated when he was asked by Glenn how things were going in Sault Ste. Marie, where he was recently laid off from his job.
“A short time after that question was asked, he butted out the joint, got up from the table, produced the buck knife, pulled the blade out, pinned his brother to the couch, and plunged the knife into his chest once and then twice,” Van Kessel said, adding that the evidence points to Jesse Allen intending to kill his brother Wayne Allen.
“That and only that is what the evidence in this case shows. I ask you to return the only just verdict in this case — guilty of second-degree murder.”
At the start of the trial, defense counsel George Joseph told the jury that this is a rare case in that he agrees with the Crown that Jesse Allen unlawfully caused the death of Wayne.
But Joseph argued in his closing submission that the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jesse Allen had the intent to commit second-degree murder.
“You might think the act of stabbing someone to the chest means they intend to kill that person or cause harm likely to cause death,” Joseph said. “That could be true, but not necessarily true.”
Joseph referred to what Jesse allegedly said following the attack, including the phrase: ‘How do you like that dad, two birds with one stone,’ which Joseph said only Glenn Allen testified to hearing.
“That statement makes no sense in the context of what happened here,” Joseph said. “If you are going to accept that he said those words, then you also have to accept that he said: ‘Wayne’s not dead, he’s going to get up.’ That is completely opposite to the Crown’s theory that he intended to kill Wayne.”
Joseph also pointed out that there was no hostility between Wayne and Jesse or ever any expressions of wanting to do harm.
Particular attention was also given by Joseph to Glenn Allen’s testimony, which he argued was inconsistent with initial statements given to police after the incident and that his evidence was not corroborated by other witness testimony.
Glenn Allen appeared very distraught during his testimony and Joseph acknowledged that no one can fully understand the trauma he has experienced.
“We can’t help but feel sympathy for Glenn. We all saw his anguish. He saw an incredibly traumatic event. No one in this room could understand his grief,” Joseph said. “While you will obviously have sympathy for him, do not place reliance on his evidence.”
Joseph also referred to Glenn as a biased witness because of the anger he feels toward Jesse, which was observed through several outbursts in court.
“Glenn Allen is angry. Understandably so,” Joseph said. “You heard Glenn Allen on Friday as he walked out of the courtroom call Jesse a piece of shit. There is no other way to characterized him as anything other than a biased witness.”
Joseph told the jury that they are being asked to comprehend the incomprehensible, to know the unknowable.
“The only thing that makes sense is this case is that it doesn’t make sense,” he said. “You must return a verdict of not guilty on second degree murder and guilty on manslaughter.”
The jury will receive instructions from Justice Danial Newton Wednesday afternoon and then begin deliberations.
