PRINCE ALBERT – A youth has been found guilty of stabbing 47-year-old Barry Pruden to death last year while trying to steal his bicycle.
The 15-year-old youth who can’t be identified in accordance with the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was found guilty of second-degree murder in Prince Albert Provincial Court and will be sentenced June 5.
Court heard that around 10 p.m. May 28, 2022, Barry Pruden and his daughter Skye were riding their bikes in downtown Prince Albert when they were accosted by several individuals. They had stopped at a store on the corner of River Street and 1st Avenue West for a few minutes. Skye Pruden waited outside, while her father went into the store. While she was waiting, video surveillance shows five or six individuals crossing River Street and gathering on the north side of the street, toward the river. When Barry Pruden exited the store, the two continued riding their bikes on the south sidewalk of River Street, heading toward the Provincial Court House. Almost immediately, video from the store shows three people jog one at a time across the street from the riverside towards the father and daughter.
According to Skye Pruden, there was some brief conversation, then Barry Pruden got off his bike and brandished a gardening tool at the group. Skye Pruden walked both bikes back to the store to get help. The group stalked Barry Pruden up and down River Street as he walked backwards brandishing the gardening tool.
Video from the court house shows at least four individuals in an altercation with Barry Pruden. Although one individual hung back for part of the altercation, at least three actively participated in the attack. Pruden was stabbed in the head, chest, and arm.
“Here, [young offender] stabbed Barry Pruden not once, not twice, but four times,” said Judge F. M. Daunt. “He stabbed him in the side of his head. He stabbed him on the top of his shoulder. He stabbed him twice in the chest with a knife that had a six-and-a-half or seven-inch blade. The knife pierced four layers of clothing, puncturing the heart and lung. Enough force was used to cause fatal injuries. If someone stabs a person in the head and the heart, it is a rational conclusion that he intends to kill that person. When Mr. Pruden fell to the ground, the attack did not stop. No assistance was offered. Instead, the attack continued until the group was frightened off by approaching police.”
Medical evidence showed that Barry Pruden suffered stab wounds from a single-bladed instrument to his head below the ear and the top of his shoulder. He also sustained two stab wounds to the chest through four layers of clothing, both of which pierced a lung. One pierced his heart. Barry Pruden was transported to Victoria Hospital and pronounced deceased at 10:56 p.m.
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