Key witness to 2019 stabbing death of Ryan Babineau testifies

Warning: Details in this article may be disturbing to some readers.

A key witness testified at the trial of Abad Shire, accused of killing a 30-year-old Barrie man in 2019.

While on the witness stand, the woman, who CTV News will not be identifying, said she was one of several people in the Dunlop Street East apartment on Nov. 16 when two men entered and stabbed Ryan Babineau what seemed like "at least 100 times" with knives.

The witness said drugs, like fentanyl and cocaine, were being used when the two men arrived at the apartment, adding, "as soon as they walked into the living room, there was stabbing."

She admitted to the court she had a history of drug addiction and memory loss from a stroke a few years ago.

Still, the woman testified she had no issue remembering Babineau being stabbed by two men as a third stood by the door.

Court heard the witness saying she remembers Babineau trying to avoid being stabbed while pleading for it to stop.

During the Crown's opening submissions Tuesday, court heard Babineau suffered more than 60 stab wounds and lacerations in the chest, legs, back and face.

The witness said the man by the door yelled, "Stop, boys, stop."

Before they left, she testified the Somali man, who she knew as Jeremy, threatened to kill everyone in the room and their families if they said anything about what they had witnessed.

Babineau was covered in blood and began gargling before she left, the witness said.

Shire's defence lawyer spent Wednesday afternoon cross-examining the woman, questioning inconsistencies in her story and trying to convince the jury her memory and testimony was unreliable.

The witness told the court the man she knew as Jeremy sold her drugs and said she could identify him without doubt as Abad Shire.

The allegations against the accused have not been proven in court.

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