The jury heard testimony from three witnesses at the second-degree murder trial of Humber student Nahor Araya Monday. The testimonies came from three men who were at Buttonwood Park on Oct. 3, 2008 when Boris Cikovic, 17, was shot.
The court has heard that Cikovic allegedly defended himself with an electrical stunning device before he was fatally shot in the abdomen by the suspect. Three men allegedly tried to rob the victim of his backpack before things escalated.
Nathan Azzopardi told the court that he was one of the first to come to the aid of Cikovic after he was gunned down.
“All I heard was two shots ring out and I ran,” Azzopardi testified. “Then I saw Boris on the ground and I had my hand on the bullet wound. After that he started going into shock.”
The court heard that after the shooting, three black males were seen walking away into a grassy area near the tennis courts at the park.
Defence attorney Stacey Nichols asked Azzopardi about some discrepancies between the statement he gave police the night of the shooting versus what he testified in court. In his statement, he told police that he saw Cikovic take out a tazer and shock one of the suspects. In court, Azzopardi said that he did not see the electric shock device at any time. “I never saw him use it with my own eyes,” he said.
Azzopardi said he remembers what he saw the night of the shooting. “I remember what I've seen,” he told the court. “My mind was everywhere that night. I just watched my best friend get shot. He pretty much died in my arms.”
Aaron Stirtzinger-Bell, 19, was the second witness to testify Monday. He told the court that he only knew one of the teens drinking in the park that night and did not see Cikovic get shot. As he left the courtroom, Stirtzinger-Bell shook the hands of Davorin and Vesna Cikovic, parents of the slain teen, and was given a hug and a kiss on the cheek by Vesna Cikovik.
The third witness was Nikola Kilibarda, 19, who will continue his testimony Tuesday.
Araya, 21, is a third-year arts student at Humber College and is the only person charged in the murder. Crown attorney Patrick Travers told the court that Araya did not pull the trigger, but is just as guilty for his involvement in the fatal botched robbery.
