Saskatoon

Who stabbed whom: Final arguments at Saskatoon murder trial blame different attackers

Four people were the last ones to see James Swift alive, but no one could say they actually saw who stabbed him to death on the outskirts of Saskatoon in 2022, a Saskatoon murder trial heard Friday.

Colton Lischka, Ashtin Ritzand are both charged with 2nd-degree murder in 2022 death of James Swift

man standing in kitchen
James Swift, 40, was fatally stabbed early on the morning of Aug. 29, 2022. (James Swift/Facebook)

One body, four witnesses, three versions of how a Saskatoon man ended up stabbed to death along a rural road just outside the city on an August morning in 2022.

A Saskatoon court heard the differing accounts during the trial for Colton Lischka, 31, and Ashtin Ritzand, who are charged with second-degree murder in the Aug. 29, 2022, stabbing death of James "Ed" Swift, 40, and with the attempted murder of his friend, Virginia Belhumeur, who was also stabbed.

Crown prosecution and defence lawyers delivered final arguments in their cases Friday afternoon at the judge-alone trial before Justice Michael Tochor in Court of King's Bench.

Defence lawyers for the two men zeroed in on the credibility of Crown witnesses and presented a "third-party" theory.

While some witnesses testified they are sure they know who stabbed Swift, none could say under oath they actually saw either victim stabbed, which opened up an avenue to argue another person is responsible for the attacks.

The defence has suggested that person could be Anthony Burley, who is charged with accessory to murder after the fact. His case is still before the courts. Burley was originally charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder, but those charges were stayed in 2023.

While details differ depending on the witness, the basics of how the night started are the same. Longtime friends Swift and Belhumeur were at the Hose and Hydrant Brew Pub in Saskatoon when a car leaving the parking lot hit — or almost hit — Swift in the leg, court heard. Lischka, Ritzand and Burley were in the car, a white Honda Civic.

A scuffle ensued, but the two groups patched things up, and Burley invited Swift and Belhumeur to his basement suite in the Evergreen neighbourhood. Lischka was a roommate, having moved in just two weeks prior.

After drinking a bit, the group left in the car to buy cocaine, court heard.

In the car, Swift and Burley argued about who got to hold the cocaine. At some point, the car stopped at a rural intersection just north of Saskatoon near Wanuskewin Heritage Park, according to testimony.

That's where the stories start to diverge.

The intersection of two rural roads during a sunny day.
The fatal altercation happened at this rural intersection, court heard. (Dan Zakreski/CBC)

Burley, who testified as a Crown witness, said he did not see who stabbed Swift. The defence argued he's an unreliable witness who told a torqued version of events to make himself look good without implicating the others.

Blaine Beaven, a defence lawyer for Ritzand argued there is very little actually known about what happened after the car stopped — just that Swift was stabbed to death, Belhumeur was stabbed, and it happened at the intersection of Penner Road and Range Road 3050 sometime between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Aug. 29, 2022.

Beaven argued Belhumeur's testimony can't be trusted because in a statement to police she first identified Ritzand, who was 28 years old at the time of his arrest in 2022, as the person who stabbed her. She testified at the preliminary trial it was Lischka, but then said it was Ritzand again this week at trial.

She also testified that Ritzand and Lischka were standing beside Swift moments before she saw her friend covered in blood, but ultimately did not see him stabbed.

Ritzand did not testify, but Lischka testified this week that he did not see Burley or Ritzand stab Swift, but said Burley ran up to the car with bloody hands and forearms and yelled at them to pull Belhumeur out of the car.

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Virginia Belhumeur, a friend of James Swift who was with him the night he was stabbed to death, testified she was also stabbed and left for dead in a ditch. Colton Lischka and Ashtin Ritzand are charged with second-degree murder in the Aug. 29, 2022, death of Swift.

Beaven argued that Burley's behaviour after the stabbing fits the profile of a guilty party: He messaged friends to find a place to hide, had a bag packed with clothes and his passport, and was arrested after a high-speed chase with police, the lawyer told court.

Lischka's lawyer Nicholas Stooshinoff made similar arguments for his client. Court heard evidence that Burley did internet searches for "Anthony Burley murder Saskatoon" and "Crime Stoppers white Civic murder" just hours after Swift died.

"I say that is very close to a confession," Stooshinoff told court. "If not a confession, it tells that he knows something about what happened."

Crown prosecutor Paul Scott called that theory a "red herring" in his final argument.

The defence argued that because Burley was charged with the other two men, he had access to the disclosure from Crown, and that information could help him tailor his version of events as needed.

Scott said if that was true, Burley would've concocted a story more in line with Belhumeur's version of events.

Justice Tochor reserved his decision for a date to be determined later.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeremy Warren is a reporter in Saskatoon. You can reach him at jeremy.warren@cbc.ca.