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The man accused of murdering two boys in Saint John, N.B., last year has told the jury he doesn’t remember the morning the two boys were killed.
Roman Kamyshnyy took the stand Thursday, testifying in his own defence at his trial.
Kamyshnyy, 46, was the opening witness called to the stand by his defence lawyer, Shanna Wicks.
“I know that the subject matter you have had to listen to over the past several days has not been easy,” Wicks told the jury in her opening argument.
“I’m sure you have many questions. Some answers Mr. Kamyshnyy has, some he doesn’t. There is a lot he doesn’t remember.”
“I’m sure you find this frustrating, but I assure you he does as well,” she added.
Kamyshnyy has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of the boys, aged 10 and 17, on Jan. 29, 2025. He has pleaded not guilty to both charges.
It is alleged that Kamyshnyy stabbed the two boys to death before trying to take his own life by shooting nails into his head with a nail gun.
A court-ordered publication ban prevents the names of the two boys, or any information that may identify their relationship to the accused, from being revealed. Previous court rulings have allowed the media to describe the case as one that involves alleged domestic violence.
Before questioning her client, Wicks reminded the court of the Crown’s opening arguments, when they referred to the case as a “simple matter.”
“As you listen to Mr. Kamyshnyy, remember nothing is that simple, particularly in tragic circumstances such as this,” Wicks told the 14-member jury.
Kamyshnyy tells court he doesn’t remember morning of murders
Wicks began by asking the accused about his life. Kamyshnyy told the court he was born and raised in Ukraine and detailed his relationship with the victims, as well as his relationship with the Crown’s key witness, Witness A, whose identity is protected by a publication ban.
Kamyshnyy said he arrived in Canada in December 2022 and worked for the transport company Midland before the murders.
He smiled and even laughed occasionally while testifying Thursday.
Some of Wicks’ questions went unanswered, with the accused instead detailing something as it pertained to his relationship with Witness A.
When Wicks asked what he recalled in the days leading up to the deaths, Kamyshnyy had trouble remembering. He testified he was having trouble sleeping at that time and had to rely on sleep medications like melatonin to help him get some rest, which he admits didn’t always help.
Kamyshnyy also answered questions about his drinking habits. He said, with a laugh, that he was never much of a drinker, but admitted he did start to drink a bit more wine and beer leading up to the end of January.
He said he did drink the week of the murders, but it was “not much.” He couldn’t remember if he had anything to drink the night before or morning of the deaths.
When asked why he purchased a nail gun a few days before the killings, Kamyshnyy told the court it was bought for work purposes.
When Wicks asked about a letter dated two days before the killings, allegedly written by Kamyshnyy and taking responsible for the deaths, he testified it was his letter.
Kamyshnyy did not recall the knives that appeared to have blood on them, pictures of which were shown in court. Nor did he remember the noises neighbours in the apartment building previously testified about hearing that morning.
“The explanation is pretty simple,” he said, after pausing when Wicks asked about the blood evidence on the kitchen knives.
“I was living normal life ... then I close my eyes, open, and I’m at the hospital,” Kamyshnyy testified, adding he has no memories of police arriving that morning, or his trip to the Saint John Regional Hospital to have a pair of nails removed from his head.
The defence wrapped their questions after about an hour of testimony.
Crown’s cross-examination
The Crown, led by prosecutor Orlando Lineros, started cross-examining Kamyshnyy shortly after 11 a.m.
Lineros confirmed personal details with Kamyshnyy, including his phone number, email and social media accounts, and that he was, in fact, the owner of numerous devices that any messages originated from.
Kamyshnyy was slumped over the witness stand, using his hand to rest on, and offered simple, one-word answers while he was questioned by the Crown.
Court broke for lunch at noon, and when Kamyshnyy returned to the stand Lineros didn’t hold back in his questioning, asking the accused simply, “Did you plan to kill (A.B. & C.D.)?”
“I didn’t plan to kill anyone,” Kamyshnyy testified. “I do not remember the night and the day before.”
The Crown spent more than two hours questioning Kamyshnyy on his alleged motives for the deaths, and detailed numerous messages the accused allegedly sent leading up to the incident.
That included asking Kamyshnyy about an email sent to his then-employer Midland Transport about his future with the company; the court heard the email was time-stamped after the boys had already been killed.
The Crown said Kamyshnyy scheduled the email to be sent at that time as he figured he would be dead by then after trying to take his own life. Kamyshnyy denied the allegation “one thousand per cent.”
As details about the incident got closer to the morning of Jan. 29, 2025, Kamyshnyy had difficulty remembering.
He was shown pictures of both boys dead in the apartment, which appeared to shake Kamyshnyy as he avoided looking at the photos.
He was asked specifically if he remembered stabbing C.D., who was found by the front door when police arrived, to which he testified, “I guess so,” before telling the Crown.
“You have pictures, you have witnesses, you have everything in your hand,” Kamyshnyy testified. “I was listening over here trying to recover this horrible situation.”
Kamyshnyy was the lone witness called on behalf of his defence.
Jury to return Tuesday
The day ended with Justice Darrell Stephenson instructing the jury that both the Crown and defence will spend the next few days preparing their final arguments.
During that time, Stephenson will also prepare his final instructions for the 14 jurors.
Those closing arguments are expected to take place Tuesday morning.
‘Desperate vengeance’: What the court has heard so far
The Crown previously told the court that Kamyshnyy’s alleged actions were ones of “desperate vengeance” against Witness A.
The court was shown a message from Kamyshnyy to Witness A that said, “I killed them all” before he allegedly shared his intentions to take his own life.
A message shortly after reads: “Call for us the police and ambulance.”
911 call from C.D.
A 911 call from the 17-year-old boy, identified as C.D., was previously played for the jury.
“Please, please, please help,” the 17-year-old pleaded with the 911 operator during the call, which was made around 7 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2025.
“Please, please, he got a knife.”
‘He just said he killed them’
Witnesses who lived in the apartment building at the time of the murders testified they heard a commotion around 7 a.m. and one said they saw a puddle of blood in the hall.
A close friend of Witness A testified that he received a call from the witness the morning of the murders.
“He did it … he just said he killed them and he’s going to try to kill himself,” Corey Dugas told the court Witness A allegedly said to him over the phone.
Accused found covered in blood
The police officers who responded to the crime scene also testified at the trial and the court was shown their bodycam footage. They told the court they found C.D. lying in the hallway of the apartment and the younger boy, identified as A.B., lying in a bed.
The officers also testified that they found the accused sitting on the toilet, covered in blood.
The court heard that Kamyshnyy was first taken to the police detention centre and then to the hospital, where it was determined the wounds in his head were from two nail guns. He underwent emergency surgery to have them removed.
Boys died from multiple stab wounds
A forensic identification officer testified that he counted 16 different cut marks in the T-shirt worn by the 10-year-old victim and 11 in the shirt worn by the 17-year-old victim.
The man who performed the autopsies on the two boys testified that they both died from multiple stab wounds.
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