Kelowna

A good friend of Ashlee Hyatt described looking over and seeing her lying on the ground, as she fought with the teen accused of stabbing her.

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

Hyatt family members leave courthouse

The 20-year-old woman, who testified in court Monday, was the first acquaintance of Hyatt, 16, to take the stand in the continuation of the Kelowna trial for the accused, whose name is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The trial began Friday.

Prior to the possible stabbing on June 2, 2010, the witness, who is not identified to protect the identity of the accused,  and a group of friends went four-wheel driving in the Glenrosa area.

Among them were the witness and the accused, who along with others were drinking shots of rye  whiskey as they drove around in a jeep.

They went back to her home on San Clemente Avenue in Peachland where the heavy drinking continued.

The teens were getting along until the accused apparently kissed one of the boys and some boys were asked to leave.

At that point a friend of her mother’s arrived on the scene and kicked everyone out.

After cleaning up and grabbing her purse the witness walked outside where she claims she saw the accused standing on the road with a knife in her hand. The two started fighting as she tried to grab the knife out of her hand.

“I tried reaching for the knife,” she said. “She wouldn’t give it to me and we ended up fighting on the ground. She was punching and scratching me as I tried to grab the knife.”

As the tussle continued she glanced over and saw Hyatt lying down. She did not see what happened to her nor who was around because it was too dark.

The girls were separated, and the witness sustained several minor injuries during the fight. She also had an asthma attack in the back of a police car she said.

The defence argued the witness was a party girl with a history of posting her activities on Facebook.

Among the pictures were the teen smoking pot and drinking excessively with such sayings as “time isn’t wasted when you are getting wasted.”

In addition, she had numerous encounters with the law, including drunk driving,  taking a cab and not paying the fare, and having an argument with her brother where she was described as being grossly intoxicated.

More recently she and others left a pin that said “Justice for Ashlee,” with a nasty letter attached at the home of the accused.

Prior witnesses were RCMP officers who were at the scene.

The teen who allegedly assaulted Hyatt sat quietly throughout the proceedings, staring straight ahead. Members of her family and friends filled the gallery behind her.

Family members of Hyatt, who wore  pins saying  “Justice for Ashlee,”  said they were glad the trial was underway, because it will bring them closure, as they left the courthouse.