Man guilty of manslaughter in fatal stabbing outside Winnipeg’s Mount Royal Hotel

There is no question that Elijah Moneyas fatally stabbed Brian Edward Anderson outside a hotel on Higgins Avenue in August 2022, but there are doubts about his intent to kill, a judge has ruled.

Anderson was stabbed three times in the upper left side of his body on August 17, 2002, following an argument near the Mount Royal Hotel in Winnipeg.

The wounds to his temple and upper back were not life-threatening, but one just above his collarbone caused his death, said King’s Bench Judge Sarah Innes’ written judgment published on Wednesday.

Moneyas, now 22, had been charged with second-degree murder, but Innes found him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter instead.

“There is no direct evidence of Mr Moneyas’ intent when he stabbed Mr Anderson. I realize this is not unusual.” [as] “Proof of intent often relies entirely on circumstantial evidence,” Innes wrote in the 31-page ruling.

“The Crown must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an inference of guilt is the only reasonable conclusion based on the circumstantial evidence and I am not satisfied that it has done so in this case. It is not enough that I believe the defendant is probably guilty.”

When police arrived shortly after 3 a.m., they found Anderson critically injured. He was taken to hospital and pronounced dead.

Moneyas and the group he was with ran from the area before officers arrived. He was identified and arrested a week later in a suite on Blake Street in the Weston neighborhood.

According to the verdict, police also confiscated a pair of blood-stained shoes from the suite. A swab on the inside heel area of ​​the right shoe yielded DNA consistent with Moneya’s, while DNA from three swabbed areas on the outside of the right shoe matched Anderson.

Moneyas’ lawyers argued the Crown had failed to prove he committed the stabbing or was even involved in the altercation – instead, one or more of the other members of the group were guilty.

They also argued that if Innes believed Moneyas was responsible, he should be acquitted for his actions in self-defense.

Money is seen with a knife

Innes flatly rejected those arguments, writing in her ruling that surveillance videos from the hotel and other locations told a different story.

The person who committed the stabbing was wearing a special jacket that Moneyas wore before and after the killing.

He is also seen holding a knife in his hand while walking backwards towards the hotel after the stabbing.

Although a forensic pathologist could not rule out the possibility that more than one weapon was used, he testified at the trial that the nature of the wounds suggested they were caused by the same weapon.

Moneyas did not testify at the trial, but his statement to police was used as evidence.

He initially denied any involvement or even presence, then tried to incriminate others, before finally admitting to the stabbing and identifying himself as the one in all the video evidence.

Moneyas claimed he retaliated after Anderson hit him, but there is evidence that Moneyas ran towards Anderson, who was standing still on the road, and did not run. Moneyas threw his right arm forward as he charged at Anderson, Innes wrote.

Combat readiness

The fight runs off-camera for about three seconds, which the defense tried to use to cast doubt on the Crown’s case. But Innes said the knife was still in Moneyas’ hand.

Moneyas also told police he was extremely drunk and high, but Innes said there were no apparent signs of impairment in his movements or behavior on the video. In fact, he maintained his balance after knocking Anderson down.

Innes acknowledged Anderson was showing combativeness, hurling curses and gestures at Moneyas as he stood in the street.

“A reasonable person in Mr. Moneyas’ situation would believe that they were facing a threat of violence,” she wrote.

However, Moneyas could have easily walked away. Anderson was described by the pathologist as morbidly obese, while Moneyas was slim and agile and could easily evade any efforts by Anderson to pursue him.

Instead, “Moneyas introduced a knife into a fistfight,” which “undermines the assertion that Mr. Moneyas was only protecting himself and was not the attacker,” Innes wrote.

But while he obviously used a knife to gain the upper hand against a much larger man, that doesn’t mean Moneyas intended to kill Anderson, she wrote.

Sentencing is expected on December 3rd.