Trial begins for Midland man accused of murder in death of tenant

The trial of a Midland man accused of murder in the death of his tenant and former friend is underway in a Barrie courtroom, where the jury will have to decide whether Rick Patrick killed Chris Forrester in self-defence.

It has been nearly three years since Forrester, 36, died in the hospital after suffering from a single stab wound to his chest outside a home along Galloway Boulevard in Midland.

Patrick, 68, was charged with second-degree murder and was later granted bail.

The Crown painted a picture for the jury of a deteriorating relationship between the two men that turned sour in the months before Forrester’s death.

The Crown highlighted a series of encounters between them, including several past calls to police.

The court heard Forrester was living in a nearby trailer he rented from Patrick, and that Patrick claimed Forrester slashed a tire on his truck and was responsible for cutting a cable line on his property.

The Crown told the court Patrick was trying to evict Forrester from the trailer, and mentioned Forrester had been previously convicted of an unrelated assault and was volunteering with Patrick as part of his sentence.

The court heard that escalating tensions culminated to a boiling point on December 16, 2021, when Patrick admitted to stabbing Forrester. The Crown said the single-stab wound killed him within minutes.

Crown Attorney Dennis Chronopoulos told the jury in his opening statement that before he died, Forrester told a police officer who came to his aid, “I just wanted to talk to him.”

An agreed statement of facts noted Patrick wasn't injured and had no blood on his clothing at the time of his arrest. 

The 911 call Patrick made following the stabbing was played for the court, where he claimed Forrester ran at him from behind when he got out of his car.

“He tried to attack me. Get him help,” he could be heard saying.

During the recorded call, Patrick said he was planning to evict Forrester. “He came up from behind me and I put a knife to his chest.”

Still, Chronopoulos said the Crown would prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Patrick did not kill Forrester in self-defence, and that the evidence would show he murdered his former friend.

Toronto defence lawyer Alison Craig is representing Patrick.

The trial is scheduled for three weeks.

• Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
• Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox