‘Stay with us’: Witnesses describe Halifax stabbing victim’s final moments

When Sgt. Pierre Bourdages applied pressure to Marc Bernard Tremblay’s chest, he said he “felt the rapid pulsations” of Tremblay’s heart, until they stopped after his third breath.

Bourdages, a Halifax Regional Police officer, shared this information in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax on Thursday during the trial of Aidan David Cromwell.

Cromwell, 24, is charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Tremblay, 25, on Feb. 2,  2012. Bourdages was the responding officer, when police were called to Ashdale Avenue and Titus Street, where Tremblay was suffering from a knife wound.

During questioning from Crown attorney Carla Ball, Bourdages said within a couple of minutes of arriving at the scene, he noticed Tremblay was gasping for air.

Const. Daniel Roache, another HRP officer, also testified Thursday. He said he was told the victim had died and the investigation was considered a homicide after being called to the scene. Based on that information he went looking for, and eventually arrested, Cromwell.

While being placed under arrest, Roache said, Cromwell told him he had been home all night. When they drove by the scene, Cromwell asked what had happened and if there had been a car accident.

Witness David Currie, who saw Tremblay lying on the sidewalk, said he noticed the handle of the knife used was missing when he opened Tremblay’s thin, nylon jacket. Currie told the court he decided not to perform CPR when he saw the knife in Tremblay’s chest.

“I felt compressions may have made the situation worse,” Currie said. He said he tried to keep Tremblay warm and pleaded for him to, “stay with us.”

The two other witnesses who testified Thursday were Erica Brewster, another bystander, and Stephen Crocker, a paramedic who responded to the emergency call. Brewster described seeing a young man flee the scene, while Crocker told the jury he tried to help Tremblay by performing CPR and placing electrodes on his chest.

Robert MacDonald, who was questioned on Wednesday, was dismissed by Justice Timothy Gabriel before the new witnesses were called. He left the courtroom after giving the victim’s mother a hug.

The trial will continue on Friday.