People who were at a Barrie mini-golf course the night Bradley Hubbard died took the stand on Monday at the trial of Matthew Spring.
Spring is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Hubbard, who was stabbed in the neck with a broken golf club following a fight at the golf centre in August 2011.
Today witnesses testified that they heard noises at the centre that night, and saw three men run by them.
One witness said she heard someone saying “that man attacked us, so we beat him up.”
In cross-examination she also said the man may have said other words -- but she couldn’t remember.
Another witness testified that he saw a man go by the 16th hole, saying “that guy is crazy. He tried to attack us. We beat the s--- out of him.”
Defence lawyers argued the witnesses’ memories may be unreliable because the witnesses were able to talk to each other before speaking with police.
“The variances might sound like it’s semantics, but it makes a lot of difference when you are talking about who was the aggressor,” said defence attorney Angela McLeod. “We know that Mr. Hubbard was the aggressor. That is conceded by the crown. We know and we have admitted that Matthew Spring was the one who caused the injury to Bradley Hubbard's neck, but it's a question of why. And it's been clear and we have been very open that it's a question of self-defence.”
The trial continues Wednesday.
