Mother of teenage girl testifies in ‘Good Samaritan’ murder trial

The mother of a Bradford teen, whose former boyfriend is on trial charged with second-degree murder testified for the Crown.

Brandon Aaron, 23, is accused of murder in the death of a man police described as a Good Samaritan who intervened when investigators said Aaron was assaulting the young woman in the early morning hours of September 4, 2022.

The woman, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, as her daughter was under the age of 18 at the time of the incident, testified against Aaron who is also charged with assaulting the woman’s daughter in the moments leading up to the stabbing along Holland Street West in Bradford.

Apparent messages between Brandon Aaron and his then teenage girlfriend in the hours that followed the alleged murder were shown to the jury Friday as the girl’s mother described how the messages ended up on her phone.

The witness said she discovered the messages on Instagram after her daughter borrowed her phone. Her daughter, who had lost her phone hours earlier while out on the town with Aaron, was sleeping after being taken to hospital and the police station following the stabbing.

The Instagram messages, she testified, were from the accused to her daughter starting at about 7 a.m. She said she recognized the social media profile as the accused’s.

“I’m going to be gone for a very long time” said the first message. “I’ll turn myself in I just want to hug u.”

The next set of messages stated not caring “that you told on me” adding “im sorry i was trying to help u.”

The messages included the sender describing a possible minimum sentence of five years and not being able to “do” five years without their support.

An hour later, the messages described a narrative of the stabbing.

“im telling them it was self defense,” the beginning of the lengthy message read.

“that u were drunk and kept falling so i was kinda carrying you bc you couldn’t walk.” The message then described a sequence of events leading to the scuffle that ensued with a passerby who offered to help the young woman get home.

The next messages described a version of how the argument turned violent after the young woman agreed to be walked home by the stranger.

“And you said yeah so he pushed me and when i tried to walk back to you he punched me in the face and i fell then he got ontop and started to choke me.”

The story continued with a description of the struggle.

“so i tried punching him in the face but he wouldnt stop so i reached in my sidebag and grabbed a kitchen knife i had and stabbed him 2 times and he got up and still ran at me so i tried to move away but i was drunk and he hit me again so i stabbed him until he wasnt a threat.”

The final messages, which also went unanswered read:

“can u please just save me ur all I got.”

The witness described the relationship between Aaron and her daughter as “toxic” and “abusive” and described the couple as having made up and broken up several times.

The Crown alleged after losing her phone and borrowing a flashlight from a gas station attendant following a night out with Aaron, the teen was assaulted, and Goddard intervened before he was stabbed 20 times by Aaron along Holland Street West at about 4 a.m.

The young woman, another witness told the court, showed up at a nearby apartment building appearing “frightened” and upset. She said the girl had been crying and required medical attention.

She was taken to hospital for a broken arm then to the police station by her mother.

The teen’s mother said her daughter then went home to sleep and hours later she noticed the Instagram messages on her phone and sent them to police.

Police said Aaron turned himself in later that day. The trial is scheduled to continue Monday with further Crown witness testimony.

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• Murder trial begins for Bradford man accused of stabbing Good Samaritan 20 times