Trial begins for Kitchener man accused of stabbing his mother, his girlfriend and her daughter

CTV’s Spencer Turcotte was in court as the trial for a triple stabbing nearly three years ago got underway.

The trial of a man charged for a triple stabbing at a Kitchener home in 2022 began on Monday.

Dylon Moreira is accused of fatally stabbing his girlfriend. He is also accused of stabbing his girlfriend’s seven-year-old daughter and his mother. He has pleaded not guilty to one count of second-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault. As the girl’s identity is protected by a publication ban, CTV News has decided not to name the other two victims as that might inadvertently reveal her identity.

On Nov. 15, 2022, just after 10 p.m., first responders were called to a home on Cayley Court where they found an injured 51-year-old woman, 41-year-old woman and 7-year-old girl.

The 41-year-old was pronounced deceased in hospital. The other two survived.

Moreira, who was 30-years-old at the time, was arrested.

Trial: Day 1

The trial officially got underway on Monday morning with Moreira sitting next to his lawyer, Stephen Gehl, instead of inside the prisoner’s box. Justice Gibson permitted the move as long as Moreira remained shackled.

The first witness to take the stand was Matthew McPherson, a detective with the Waterloo Regional Police Service’s forensics unit.

Court was shown photos McPherson took of Moreira and his mother’s injuries while they were in the hospital on the night of the stabbings. Other photos showed blood stains throughout the Cayley Court home.

McPherson was asked why certain pictures were taken as part of the forensics investigation and whether some of the images showed in court did, in fact, show blood spatter.

While the Crown aims to prove Moreira’s intent on the second-degree and attempted murder charges, Gehl told the court that one of the issues they have to consider is Moreira’s mental state. He claimed his client was hearing voices at the time of the stabbings.

The coroner who performed the autopsy on Moreira’s girlfriend is expected to testify on Tuesday.

Three weeks have been set aside for the trial.