How Ottawa police interrogated murder suspect Devontay Hackett
Hackett charged with second-degree murder in 2014 death of Brandon Volpi
CBC News has obtained nearly an hour's worth of interrogation footage in which Ottawa police try to get Devontay Hackett to open up about the 2014 prom night stabbing death of 18-year-old Brandon Volpi.
Now 21, Hackett was also 18 when police arrested him in Toronto in 2014, more than a month after Volpi was fatally stabbed outside Les Suites Hotel on Besserer Street at an after-prom party.
Hackett has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.
His trial is currently underway.
Jurors watched video
Last week jurors were shown the edited interrogation video, in which Det. Chris Benson tries to get answers as to what happened the night of June 7, 2014.
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The Crown has alleged that Hackett stabbed Volpi during a fight outside the hotel after Volpi intervened in a confrontation involving Hackett and another student over a missing cell phone.
Benson begins the interrogation by offering Hackett a slice of pizza and a bottle of water, and tells him he's being recorded.
He then offers a possible reason for why he's been called in to carry out the investigation: his own son had been involved in a fight at a hockey tournament, coming to the defence of someone with a learning disability.
'Not a dumb guy'
At one point, Benson tells Hackett he's "not a dumb guy" and that he was supposed to be "going places." Hackett replies he has plans to go to college and study business.
But when it comes to Volpi's death, Hackett often deflects or refuses to answer Benson's questions.
Benson tells Hackett he knows what happened that night, where it happened, and who was involved — but not why.
Hackett frequently responds he doesn't know what Benson is talking about, and that he won't discuss details of that night without his lawyer present.
Watch the full interrogation video above.