Police have released surveillance camera footage of a man and a woman who they believe witnessed a gruesome stabbing outside a North York bar this past winter.
Kiowa Wind McComb, 20, and his brother were at Gucci's Bar and Grill near Jane Street and Lawrence Avenue on February 9 when they got into some sort of altercation with another man.
That altercation then spilled outside the bar, where the suspect allegedly stabbed both brothers multiple times.
Kiowa Wind McComb, 20, was pronounced dead on scene. McComb’s brother, meanwhile, was transported to hospital after being located by police as he knocked on the doors of nearby homes in the hopes of getting help.
Following the stabbing, police pulled over a cab in the area and arrested 35-year-old Andre Appleton and charged him with second-degree murder and attempted murder.
Police have so far been unable to locate a second person that they believe exited the cab before it was stopped, however they say that their investigation has determined that that person wasn’t involved in the stabbing.
One of the videos released by police on Friday shows the man placing his hand to his face while standing just outside the entrance to the bar while another video shows the woman smoking in the same area.
Det. Sgt. Gary Giroux said that it is his belief that both the man and the woman witnessed the stabbing and may have important information to offer investigators.
Few details are currently known about the man and woman, other than the fact that both are known to frequent bars in the Jane Street and Lawrence Avenue area. Police also say that the woman may go by the name “Leyla.”
“It is clear to me that they have seen what happened and want to be out of there as quickly as they can,” Giroux said. “He (the man) is clearly shocked and horrified by what he is seeing because at one point in time he actually puts his hand to his face.”
Suspect tried to move body
McComb was stabbed in the neck and torso and “lost virtually all of the blood in his body,” according to Giroux.
The detective said that a “drag mark” on the sidewalk suggests that the suspect may have attempted to pull the body into a nearby laneway before abandoning the idea, something he said that the man and woman may have also witnessed.
“I was tempted to use a photograph showing the volume of blood loss but out of respect for the family I decided not to do that. However I did warn the family that I was going to speak about the blood loss at the scene and would in essence try to shame the individuals into coming forward,” Giroux said. “The blood was basically trailing behind the body to the point that he had lost virtually all the blood in his body. By the time of autopsy the organs were pale.”
Giroux said that the investigation so far has indicated that McComb didn’t know his attacker and may have just been in “the wrong place at the wrong time.”
