Warning: Some may find the video disturbing
Chilling footage released Wednesday in an Ottawa courtroom shows the final moments of an 18-year-old man who was stabbed to death outside a hotel following his prom.
Brandon Volpi died after being stabbed in the chest and neck when a fight broke out outside Les Suites Hotel in downtown Ottawa during an after-prom party in June 2014. The fatal brawl was captured on area surveillance cameras and by bystanders who filmed the fight with their cellphones.
The footage was released as part of a police timeline for the jury in Devontay Hackett’s second-degree murder trial in the death of Volpi. Hackett, 21, has pleaded not guilty.
Police allege the video timeline tracks Hackett’s movements before, during and after the fight outside the hotel.
Cellphone shot by people on third and 10th floor balconies at the hotel allegedly shows the seconds-long fatal fight unfolding outside the hotel. Hackett, then 18, is identified as the man in white, while Volpi is identified as the man in black. Once the fight is over, footage shows Hackett fleeing the scene, the Crown said. The footage also shows an injured Volpi being helped by friends and a security guard until paramedics arrive. Volpi was later rushed to hospital where he died of his injuries.
The trial, which began earlier this week, heard that the altercation may have stemmed from a fight involving another individual and a cellphone.
Police say their video timeline also includes area surveillance footage that tracks Hackett’s movements for nearly 30 minutes after the brawl.
After the altercation, Ottawa police issued a Canada-wide warrant for Hackett, who was 18 at the time. He was arrested days later in Toronto.
With a report by CTV Ottawa’s Catherine Lathem
