A man accused of using a samurai sword to nearly decapitate a Vancouver teen has been found guilty of manslaughter.
After five days of deliberations, the jury found Amritpal Dhillon, who pleaded not guilty to the January 2013 slaying of Manraj Akalirai, 19, not guilty of second-degree murder, but guilty of manslaughter.
Amritpaul Rakhra, a co-accused of Dhillon, was also found guilty of manslaughter in the gruesome death. He was alleged to have used a golf club to beat up Akalirai following a confrontation between two groups of young men in a residential neighbourhood in East Vancouver.
According to one witness, the fight was sparked by a “hood beef” — a neighbourhood dispute between the two groups.
A man who can only be identified as Witness X claimed that there was a “back and forth” dispute involving the breaking of car windows and slashing of vehicle tires.
Witness X, the Crown’s key witness, testified that on the night of the slaying, he and Akalirai had been preparing to go out to eat.
When Akalirai reported that someone was circling the neighbourhood, Witness X decided to arm himself with the samurai sword and a machete.
As the two men were pulling out to go get something to eat, two vehicles suddenly blocked their path, he testified.
Witness X got out of their vehicle with the sword and confronted a man wielding a golf club.
During the ensuing battle, Witness X used the sword to cut off the thumb of the other man.
When the golf club clashed with the sword, Witness X said he dropped the sword and ran.
Akalirai followed him to a nearby front yard on Elgin Street, with the two accused chasing them.
Witness X told the jury that Rakhra struck his friend first with the golf club, knocking him to the ground. He said Dhillon, who had picked up the sword, followed up with a swing of the weapon that took off most of the top of Akalirai’s head.
Dhillon took the stand and told a very different version of events. He told the jury that following the confrontation, he had picked up a sheath from the sword that had been discarded by Witness X.
He said Witness X, still armed with the samurai sword, followed him into a nearby yard and swung the sword at his neck. He said he was able to deflect the blow with the sheath, the blow knocking the sword from Witness X’s hands.
Shortly thereafter, Dhillon said he picked up the sword and was confronted by Akalirai in the front yard.
When Akalirai lunged at him, Dhillon said he swung the sword once, fearing for his life.
In his closing submissions, Crown counsel Brendan McCabe argued that the single blow that nearly cut off Akalirai’s head was evidence of the intention of the accused to commit murder.
The trial, heard in one of B.C.’s biggest courtrooms, most days was packed with family and friends of the victim and the accused. The case returns to court on Dec. 9 to set a date for the sentencing hearing.
Read more at:
http://www.theprovince.com/news/found+guilty+manslaughter+beheading+death/11552047/story.html
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