Crown argues evidence overwhelming Winnipeg man fatally stabbed 3-year-old boy, but defence calls case circumstantial
WARNING: This report contains distressing details from evidence presented in a trial.
The fate of a Winnipeg man accused of fatally stabbing a three-year-old boy in his sleep will soon be in the hands of a jury.
Daniel Jensen, 34, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the November 2019 death of three-year-old Hunter Smith-Straight.
After a two-week trial, lawyers presented their final arguments in the case.
The 13-member jury heard arguments Jensen was enraged and furious at his partner Clarice Smith in the early morning hours of Oct. 30, 2019.
The Crown argued he came up with a plan while walking from the Northern Hotel bar to a home on Pritchard Ave. where Hunter, Clarice’s son, was sleeping in his bed.
“Hurt and angry at Clarice Smith, he decided to hurt her in the most cruel and permanent way: by taking her only child,” Crown attorney Jennifer Mann told jurors during closing arguments at Jensen’s trial.
The Crown argued the stabbing was planned and deliberate and Jensen had a motive. Mann directed the jury to video surveillance of Jensen’s movements and testimony from multiple witnesses who told the court Jensen and Smith had been arguing that night.
“There is no doubt that Daniel Jensen killed Hunter. None at all,” Mann told jurors. “The evidence against him is overwhelming.”
Jurors heard Jensen violently assaulted Smith at the bar before leaving and walking to the home.
The Crown pointed the jury to witness testimony that Jensen told Smith’s relative he was at the home to check up on Hunter around 2 a.m. Mann argued he wasn’t there long before leaving and didn’t alert anyone Hunter was hurt.
“Daniel Jensen was in that house for about five minutes, at most,” Mann told jurors. “That was enough time, though, to do what he set out to do: go upstairs, find a sharp knife in the kitchen sink, go into Hunter’s room and stab him six times.”
Relatives discovered Hunter stabbed with a blanket pulled up to his chin around 30 minutes later. Mann suggested no one heard Hunter because Jensen held his hand over the boy’s mouth and face.
Mann reminded the jury of evidence heard at trial blood on Jensen’s clothing matched Hunter’s DNA.
“It was on his t-shirt, it was on his hoodie, it was on his pants,” Mann told jurors. “That is not a coincidence.”
Jensen’s lawyer, Bruce Bonney, argued the case is circumstantial because no one saw Jensen stab Hunter. Bonney told jurors Jensen was at the home to get his things and suggested the blood on his clothes came from picking up Hunter to try and revive the boy after he’d been stabbed by someone else.
Bonney suggested to jurors one of Hunter’s older cousins who lived in the home and who was found with his own blood on his clothing is a viable alternative suspect.
“One of your duties is to ensure an innocent man is not convicted,” Bonney told the jury. “I would ask that you acquit Dan Jensen of all charges.”
Bonney also questioned why not all of the bloodstains and blood splatter found in the room where Hunter was sleeping underwent DNA analysis.
“I criticize the investigation,” Bonney argued. “I call into question why they did not test more in Hunter’s bedroom.”
The Crown argued the defence theory defies logic.
Mann asked the jury to find Jensen guilty of first-degree murder.
The jury is expected to begin deliberating Wednesday to come up with a verdict in the case.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.