Brandon Nakogee has been found guilty of second-degree murder for the stabbing death of Tristan Ayers, a North Bay, Ont., man who was killed just eight days before Christmas in 2022. The 12-person jury found Nakogee guilty Thursday night after a little more than two-week trial. Family members of the victim gasped when the seven men and five women on the jury read the verdict shortly after 8 p.m., after deliberating for five and a half hours. Some buried their heads in their hands in tears, while others shared hugs. Nakogee, who wore a royal blue and white striped dress shirt, navy blue pants and brown loafers, stared forward at Superior Court Justice Greg Ellies. He was convicted of stabbing Ayers in the back, severing an artery, in the early hours of Dec. 17, 2022. The jury agreed with Crown prosecutor Michael Crystal that Nakogee and another man, Trevor Goulais, attacked the 33-year-old Ayers in an alleyway near the parking lot of the Worthington Street West LCBO, after looking for cigarettes. Goulais pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2024 in the case. The pair was directed to Ayers by a man named Craig Bullock, who told them that he had no smokes, but Ayers might have some. At the time, Ayers and another woman, Lizzie Mattinas, were huddled in the alleyway by a small fire trying to keep warm. Goulais and Nakogee told Mattinas to leave and Goulais used a stick to beat Ayers. When the stick broke into two pieces, Nakogee pulled a knife and stabbed Ayers. He testified that Goulais was “weak” and was losing the fight and he only intervened to protect his friend. Crystal told jurors that Nakogee was joining in on the attack and his actions were “not about protecting Goulais” but about ratcheting up the violence. Nakogee also stabbed Ayers’ legs several times after he went down. Always carried a knife Ayers crawled out of the alleyway into the back of the liquor store parking lot to a guardrail as the attack continued. Eventually, he bled to death. After he was arrested, Nakogee admitted he always carried a knife because he felt the streets of North Bay were dangerous. He didn’t have one when he was taken into custody, Crystal said, because he got rid of it to hide the evidence. Nakogee admitted to consuming fentanyl the day of his arrest and said he didn’t know how many times he stabbed Ayers. Crystal successfully pointed out that, despite Nakogee maintaining he only attacked Ayers’ legs, a security camera video from the scene proved he couldn’t be relied on when arguing which part of the body he attacked. Blood in the snow During his interrogation, Nakogee told North Bay Police Det. Const. Erin Pemberton that he “pulled a knife out” and that he was “sorry.” Crime scene photos highlighted five stab wounds and a police video from the scene showed a pool of blood seeped into the snow. Nakogee’s lawyer, Laurie Galway, declined to comment to the media. In a statement to reporters, Ayers’ family said they felt a great sense of relief. “The family is relieved that justice has been served,” two family spokespeople said. “Regardless of the circumstances, Tristan was very loved.” A second-degree murder conviction comes with a life sentence with no chance of parole for between 10-25 years. The jury recommended to the judge that Nakogee not be eligible for parole for a decade. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 13.
