Cause of death revealed at London murder trial

A London jury heard that a fatal stab wound caused the death of a well-known fitness instructor who died almost four years ago.

Dr. Edward Tweedie, a forensic pathologist from the London Health Sciences Centre examined the body of Dereck Szaflarski, 27, shortly after he died.

“Mr. Szaflarski received five stab wounds and one of those was a fatal wound to the chest and he bled to death,” he told the jury. “The wound that entered the chest cut into the heart.”

Szaflarski had been out celebrating his birthday in May of 2018.

After the bars closed he got into an altercation while walking in front of a car along Richmond Street in downtown London. Within minutes he collapsed after walking away with the stab wounds.

The court has heard that four days after the incident the accused, Robert Ashley Williams, 39, turned himself in to police. He is charged with second degree murder and has pleaded not guilty.

Earlier in the day, the jury heard testimony from an expert witness from the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto, Diana Polley, in connection with DNA found at the crime scene.

Polley told the court that she examined blood found in the suspect vehicle.

“There was DNA from two individuals,” she said. “Mr. Szaflarski and Mr. Williams could not be excluded from that mixture.”

The trial resumes on Friday with the Crown’s case nearing its end.