Accused testifies in his own defence in London, Ont. murder trial

As he took the stand to testify, Robert Ashley Williams, 39, said a heated argument started when the victim Dereck Szaflarski, 27, walked in front of his car four years ago on Richmond Street.

“I said, ‘Watch where you’re going, I almost ran over you...Mr. Szaflarski said, ‘F—k you, you watch where the f—k you’re going,’” Williams testified.

Williams then said the “N” word was used and that’s when he got out of his car.

He said, “I had a knife in my pocket, I reached in my pocket and pulled my knife out.”

Williams then told the court that Szaflarski ran at him and punched him and said, “I was fearful and I was afraid for my life...I started swinging it [the knife] wildly towards Mr. Szaflarski and I stabbed him.”

Williams admitted that he took off in a hurry from the scene because he was in shock and needed medical attention after being cut by a broken storefront window.

 “I was just thinking of getting away from him,” Williams said.

The jury heard that instead of going to a hospital in London he drove to one in St. Thomas, Ont.

Szaflarski, a well-known fitness instructor, had been out drinking and celebrating his birthday in May 2018 when he was stabbed five times, a fatal wound piercing his heart.

Four days later Williams turned himself into London police. He is charged with second-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty.

Later in the day, Crown Attorney James Spangenberg started his cross-examination of Williams suggesting that the accused had the intent to kill Szaflarski when he pulled out a knife.

In regards to the altercation, Spangenberg asked, “You [Williams] brought a knife to a fist fight?” and Williams responded, “No.”

The Crown told the accused that he could have simply stayed in his car rather than confront the victim and Williams agreed.

Spangenberg then asked the accused, “What good could come from you arguing with a drunk person on Richmond Row at two-thirty in the morning?” Williams then responded, “Nothing I guess...I just wanted to chirp him.”

The Crown suggested that Williams sped away from the scene because he knew he did something bad. But the accused disagreed and said that he didn’t see any blood from the victim.

Closing arguments in the case and the judge’s charge are expected to be heard on Tuesday.