The second-degree murder trial of a man accused of fatally stabbing his girlfriend inside Burnaby’s Metrotown mall is underway in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.
Everton Javaun Downey, 33, was charged with second-degree murder in January 2022.
The charge relates to the death of 25-year-old Melissa Blimkie of North Vancouver, who was stabbed in a Metropolis at Metrotown parkade stairwell on Dec. 19, 2021 and later died in hospital, according to police reports at the time.
Downey and Blimkie had been "in a relationship" for some time before the killing, according to the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.
Downey was ordered to stand trial after a two-day preliminary inquiry in March 2023.
At the beginning of his trial Tuesday morning, Downey pleaded not guilty.
His trial, by judge alone, is expected to last 23 days but will be split into four separate weeks.
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