The Grade 11 social studies class at Leduc’s Christ the King High School was taking a morning break when Dylan Pountney burst into the room and made his way toward Jennifer Winkler.
“He yelled at her to reply, and that was the only word he said,” a classmate recalled on the witness stand Wednesday.
Pountney appeared to strike Winkler half a dozen times around her rib cage and left shoulder. It wasn’t clear what he was doing until he threw a knife across the room and ran into the hallway, the student said.
Winkler stumbled forward as the terrified teacher tried to calm her students, according to the classmate. The 17-year-old lost massive amounts of blood and was airlifted to hospital, where she later died.
Pountney, 21, began a first-degree murder trial in Wetaskiwin Monday for the March 15, 2021, killing.
Court of King’s Bench Justice Eric Macklin is hearing the case without a jury. Three students who were in Classroom 128 that day took the stand Wednesday. Their names are covered by a publication ban.
The first to testify — who recalled Pountney shouting “reply” — remembers playing a game on her phone during the break. Many of her classmates were up and milling about. The student and Winkler were friends and had just talked about her new sweater.
Suddenly, the student heard someone running in the hallway and looked up to see Pountney. She saw him swing his arm seven times at Winkler’s body. She remembered his voice as both “angry” and “confused.” He then threw a knife in her direction and fled the room.
The teacher tried to reassure Winkler she would be OK. None of the students moved until another teacher came to escort them to a different classroom.
Prosecutor Jeff Rudiak asked the student what was going through her mind as she watched the violence unfold.
“Nothing,” she replied. “It was kind of just blank.”
The second student to testify recalled Pountney “running into the room (and) coming after Jenny.”
“He kind of came up from behind her,” she said. “I thought he was hugging her or something, and then I saw his arms swinging up and down.
“He was yelling either ‘Answer me’ or ‘Reply.’ It was almost like he was eager for an answer. I’m not exactly sure, but it was like he wanted her to say something.”
Winkler was silent. The student recalled her falling to the floor in a pool of blood.
A third student did not recall Pountney or Winkler saying anything during the attack.
Court heard there was a previous relationship between the Winkler and Pountney families, though specifics have not been discussed. The prosecution has yet to suggest a motive for the killing. Macklin is weighing whether to admit evidence from Pountney’s post-arrest statement to police.
The Crown is expected to continue its case on Thursday with testimony from a medical examiner. Defence lawyer Derek Anderson plans to call forensic psychologist Marc Nesca at the start of his case.