deadmonton 2003 - christopher nijjer
Christopher Nijjer, 24, was stabbed to death July 8th, 2003.
Alex Jae Song, 22, was charged with second-degree murder and possession of an offensive weapon.
Christopher Nijjer died July 12th, 2003, four days after receiving a stab wound to the chest in suite 1606 at 10904 102 Avenue.
Media reports described his death, Edmonton's tenth murder of 2003, as a gangland execution.
Exactly five months later on December 8th, Calgary police arrested Alex Jae Song at an LRT station in that city. Edmonton police had earlier issued a Canada-wide warrant for his apprehension.
Song was placed in the Edmonton Remand Centre to await trial.
On November 24th, 2004 Song (left), who stands six feet and weighs about 200 pounds, was the victim of an assault that took place within Edmonton Remand Centre walls.
Song, a member of the Crazy Dragons, enforcers for an Asian drug gang, was allegedly attacked by a Hells Angels associate. The fight occurred in a section of the jail used to house gang members.
Song was found in his cell with major head injuries and was rushed to hospital. He was placed on life support after lapsing into a coma and remained unconscious for several weeks. Song was left with brain damage that confined him to a wheelchair.
Sources from inside the jail suggested Song's beating was retaliation for an assault on a Hells Angel associate by a Crazy Dragon in the Lethbridge detention centre three days before.
At a hearing held October 18th, 2005 Alex Jae Song was found unfit to stand trial.
A jury ruled that Song was not fit to stand trial by reason of a mental disorder that caused memory lapses. Evidence presented at the hearing indicated Song was not competent enough to aid in his own defense.
Court heard that if Song was later found to be fit to stand trial, his murder trial would then take place. He remained in custody at an Edmonton hospital.
Shawn Henderson, 27, was charged with aggravated assault relating to Song's beating. He pleaded not guilty and was scheduled to appear in court on April 6th, 2006.
In November 2005 the Alberta Review Board ruled Song was mentally capable of going back to court.
On August 30th, 2006 Shawn Henderson pleaded guilty to aggravated assault against his own lawyer's advice.
The surprise plea came at the start of what was to be a preliminary hearing.
Defence lawyer Laurie Wood later said her client was in the Remand Centre for violating parole from an earlier assault conviction.
She said Henderson was in the Centre's gang unit only because officials felt he was a member of the Hells Angels, something her client had always denied.
Crown Prosecutor Laura MacRae told the court Henderson got into a dispute about one of the telephones around the corner from his cell.
Nearby the phone was graffiti indicating, "This phone to be used by Indian Posse or Crazy Dragons only."
When Alex Song, a Crazy Dragons member, saw Henderson trying to make a call he told him to get off the line because it was a gang phone.
Henderson dropped the receiver, went into Song's cell where he punched Song to the ground. He then stomped on Song's head several times.
Other inmates notified staff and guards fround Song bleeding on the floor.
Song was taken to the University of Alberta Hospital in critical condition, where he remained unconscious and hooked to a ventilator for several weeks. He was left with severe neurological problems.
The prosecution planned to seek a 5-year prison term for Henderson, less about two years' credit for time served.
The defence however felt Henderson did not deserve any further jail time.
His sentencing hearing took place October 24th, 2006.
On September 5th, 2006 Court of Queen's Bench Justice Brian Burrows said the matter of Alex Song's competence would go before a jury on October 2nd, 2006, with a trial set to begin October 10th.
With the matter of Alex Jae Song's competence now resolved, the Crown proceeded with its second-degree murder trial against him on October 10th, 2006.
Crown prosecutor Kimberly Goddard introduced a host of characters in her opening statement. She also introduced a compelling apartment building security surveillance tape that featured many of the main players.
Combining the timeline provided by Goddard and the videotape evidence, by the end of the first day of trial a seven woman and five man jury heard and saw how an evening of partying with friends resulted in the sudden death of Christopher Nijjer and the unceremonious dumping of his body.
On the evening of July 7th, 2003 Nijjer had been out with a group of friends, including Alex Song, at the St. Pete's strip club at 11125 156 Street in the city's west end.
The men's club was later the scene of an unsolved January 2004 double homicide that saw Joey Morin aka Joey Campbell and Robert Charles Simpson shot to death in the parking lot.
Nijjer, Song and a few others then left the strip club and went to the apartment of Song's girlfriend -- Sarah Kinsella -- at 10904 102 Avenue.
Time-coded video evidence, supported with testimony from Edmonton police video specialist Const. Steven Jones, showed the partiers entering the building at 3:08 a.m.
During the next hour Nijjer left the building, returning with his girlfriend Natalie Murphy.
In the meantime the party became loud enough to attract building security who told partiers to quiet down.
An argument broke out between Song and Nijjer, suggested Crown prosecutor Goddard.
As Nijjer and Murphy went to leave, Alex Song grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed Nijjer once in the centre of his chest, piercing his heart, said Goddard.
Nijjer pulled the knife out of his chest and staggered out of the apartment. He quickly collapsed in the hallway.
The Crown said that Song and Lyle Buffalo then dragged Nijjer into an elevator.
The building's lobby video showed two women unrelated to the events call an elevator to the main floor at 4:16 a.m.
Within seconds the door opened and a man could be seen walking backwards, dragging a limp man with a blood-covered white shirt by his ankles.
The two women turned and stared, with one continuing to lean on the button as Nijjer's body was dragged through the lobby.
One man gripped Nijjer's hand while two other men walked alongside.
The group took Nijjer outside and dumped him on the sidewalk in front the building. The two women entered the elevator and presumably went up to their apartment.
Natalie Murphy called 911. Apartment security staff performed first aid. Song and Buffalo fled the area.
Video cameras caught Sarah Kinsella and An Phung leaving through a back door of the building carrying a black bag.
Goddard said police later noticed there had been an effort to clean up the suite.
Ambulance workers found Nijjer splayed on the sidewalk in a pool of blood. He died four days later in hospital.
The second day of the trial was taken up with testimony from police who first responded to a 911 call of a man bleeding on a downtown street.
Const. Eric White told court of how he met an ambulance carrying Christopher Nijjer at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
White said he confiscated Nijjer's blood-covered white shirt. He was unable to speak to Nijjer who was rushed into emergency surgery.
Evidence was also presented by the medical examiner's office informing the court Nijjer died of a single stab wound that punctured his heart.
The trial continued with Natalie Murphy, Nijjer's girlfriend, providing testimony concerning events in the apartment suite that lead to his death.
Murphy said an argument with racist overtones broke out between Song, who is Asian, and Nijjer shortly before he was stabbed.
“He was being racist and saying how their culture, their people, were so much better,” said Murphy, explaining that Nijjer was of native descent.
Murphy, now 23, said that while Nijjer was laughing it off she was bothered by the remarks. The two argued, and Song demanded Nijjer shut her up.
The girlfriend said the two men were “basically calling each other down.”
As the couple were leaving the suite, Murphy saw Song looking for something in a kitchen drawer, eventually locating a steak knife.
“I guess he pulled out a knife and he stabbed Chris in the chest,” said Murphy, adding she had a clear view of the act. “I started screaming and said you didn’t have to do this.”
After the stabbing, Nijjer collapsed in the hallway and was dragged by Song and Lyle Buffalo into an elevator.
Murphy testified that during the elevator ride Song threatened to take her somewhere. The scared woman swore on her boyfriend's life she wouldn't tell anyone what happened.
The jury heard a recording of the 911 call Murphy made following the stabbing. On the tape she could be heard screaming “No, no!”
Murphy admitted she lied to the 911 operator by saying it was a native person who had stabbed Nijjer.
She testified she also had lied to police about who was responsible because she wanted to talk to Nijjer first.
When asked if she spoke to Nijjer she answered, “No, ’cause he died, ’cause he was stabbed in the heart for no reason.”
After Nijjer died, Murphy confirmed in court she had gone to police and told them everything she had witnessed.
Song's girlfriend, Sarah Kinsella, testified that she didn't remember who stabbed Nijjer. She admitted she cleaned up the blood in her apartment before police got there.
The trial wrapped up on October 19th, 2006 with final arguments.
After five hours of deliberation, the seven woman and five man jury returned with a verdict.
Alex Jae Song was found guilty of second-degree murder.
Upon hearing the verdict, alleged Crazy Dragons drug gang member Song looked down and swallowed several times.
His sister began crying and said "I love you" to Song as used his walker to get to the cell-block area.
Song turned to his family in the courtroom and said, "See you later."
At the 8:15 p.m. verdict many of Nijjer's relatives were also present. Christopher's mother said she was glad Song was found guilty.
"He deserved it," said Mabel Nijjer. "He put my son in the ground and I hope he gets the max."
Mabel said Christopher "was a good son" who loved sports, winning an athlete of the year award when he was in Grade 9.
"He really wanted to be a dad and always said he would be a good father, but he never lived to see that day."
Song now faced a mandatory life sentence. His parole eligibility was set to be determined at a hearing slated for October 25th, 2006.
To date, results of that hearing have not been reported by media.
On October 24th, 2006 Shawn Henderson was sentenced for his November 24th, 2004 attack on Alex Jae Song inside the Edmonton Remand Centre.
Henderson was sentenced to 54 months for a near-fatal beating that left Song with severe neurological damage requiring the use of a walker for the rest of his life.
As he had already spent the past 15 months in jail, Henderson's sentenced was reduced by 30 months by way of the nearly-obligatory two-for-one credit given for pretrial custody at the over-crowded facility.
Provincial court Judge Peter Caffaro noted the fight was consensual but Henderson had used excessive force.
"He certainly could benefit from anger management," Caffaro said. "Violence, whether it's on the street or in the remand centre, has no place in our society."
Court heard that Song swore at Henderson for using a phone that was labelled "Crazy Dragon gang members only."
Henderson knocked Song to the floor of his cell with a punch to the head. He then administered a "jailhouse stomp."
Crown prosecutor Laura MacRae said, "He delivered at least 10 kicks to the head of Mr. Song."