A BC man has been found not guilty of manslaughter in a fatal fight that took place at a house party in 2020.
The main issue of the trial was whether or not the accused, Andrew Steve Alphonse, age 43, acted in self-defense in a fight with Richard Henry on Jan. 20, 2020 at a home in Duncan.
Court documents detail witness testimony from the night in question, where Henry was said to be intoxicated at a party in a Duplex located in a small subdivision in Cowichan Tribes.
Henry was 53-year-old at the time of the incident, and was described as a “big man” by witnesses. He was involved in a romantic relationship with Christine George at the time, and she was present that night, as was her niece, Eliza George. They both gave witness testimony.
Christine told the court that before the party, the three of them stopped at a liquor store. While there, Henry purchased beer and a mickey of vodka to take to the party.
The three of them arrived at around 7 or 8 pm, and Christine recalled seeing Alphonse, Mark George, Donnie Tom and the residents of the Duplex. Everyone was socializing in the kitchen/dining area.
Henry had drank around four or five beers. An argument then ensued between him and one of the other guests, Donnie Tom, with Henry eventually turning his anger toward the accused, Alphonse.
It was said by both Christine and Eliza that Alphonse had said on numerous occasions during the night that he did not want to fight Henry, and ignored his actions. This was confirmed by virtually every person present.
Christine said she got between Henry and Alphonse at one point when Henry moved towards him. She said she was unable to calm Henry down, and he was in a state of “uncontrolled anger,” and was swearing at her.
Mark also confirmed that Henry had lots of “fighting words” at the party and was very angry upon leaving, and had told Alphonse that he would be waiting for him outside the duplex.
At that point, Mark took him outside and Christine went home shortly after, arriving at around 10 pm.
“She agreed that one reason she decided to go home was due to fear of violence from the deceased,” the court document read.
Back at the duplex, the disagreement continued to escalate. At the time of the physical altercation, Eliza was the only other person present, other than Henry and Alphonse.
The judge said in the decision that Eliza was a “credible” and “reliable” witness who “testified truthfully and thoughtfully.”
She confirmed that during the party she heard Henry ask Alphonse to “come outside and fight” and that Alphonse said he did not want to fight so many times that “it was actually annoying.”
After Henry left, Eliza said that the party began to wind down, and she saw Alphonse go into the living room.
Then, she saw Henry outside the duplex, and heard him jiggle the front and back doorknobs, which she had locked because she didn't want him to come back inside, as she “feared him.”
Watching him from the living room window, Eliza recounted seeing Henry going back and forth between some houses, one of which was Christine’s house. She then sat down in the living room to look at her phone, with Alphonse in the room with her. He was laying on a fold-out cot with his eyes closed. Eliza went and sat in the cot next to him, according to her testimony.
A while later, she said the hallway light turned on and she heard Henry in the hallway of the Duplex. It was dark, and when he entered the living room she felt fearful.
Henry turned the light on and was reportedly very angry, and came up to the cot and struck Alphonse, waking him up. He was reportedly shocked, and Henry again told him to get up and fight. Alphonse once again said he did not want to.
Henry began to pull his sweater off, and appeared to be drunk. He punched the accused again as he sat up at the edge of the cot.
At that point, the two began to exchange blows, as the accused “had had enough.” They fell behind the sofa, continuing to fight where Eliza could not see much of what was going on.
Eventually, Alphonse got up and sat back down, asking if the witness was okay. Henry was not moving—Alphonse then went and flipped him on his side, as he didn’t not want him to choke on blood.
Eliza then went home, without seeing at the extent of Henry’s injuries. It was Christine who discovered Henry’s state later that night, after coming back to find him. Upon discovering him, she called 911 and administered chest compressions on the advice of the call taker.
On Jan. 20, 2020, shortly before 5 am, police and paramedics responded. Henry was given CPR and was transported to hospital, where he died. Medical evidence did not point to an exact moment the fatal injury was inflicted.
“I find the entire incident happened very quickly,” the judge wrote. “At some points, both of the parties were throwing punches and it was a rapid and dynamic interaction between them.”
“I find that given the speed of the incident, the accused had very little time to think or weigh options.”
The judge added that a person who is defending themselves in such a situation is not expected to know exactly how to respond or “how much force to use to achieve their purpose.”
The Crown’s position was that the accused knew he was no longer in danger at a certain point, and therefore was not acting in self-defense.
It further alleged that he was engaging in “gratuitous, overwhelming violence,” however the Crown did not specify when Alphonse knew he was no longer at risk.
The judge pointed to both the fact that both men were punching each other, and that the accused turned Henry on his side—at which point he did not “undertake gratuitous after-the-fact violence against the deceased.”
“I conclude the Crown has not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused’s acts during the incident were not committed for a defensive purpose,” the judge said.
The accused was acquitted of the manslaughter charge against him.
