Warning: This story contains details and facts some may find upsetting.
The stabbing death of Nick Tanti was a tragedy.
But the moment the stabbing actually happened outside Tony's Billiards on Feb. 29, 2020, and the motive behind it remains under dispute between the Crown and defense in the trial of Aidan and Angus Kee.
Both sides had their chance to present closing arguments to the jury Friday.
The jury will be charged by the judge on Monday then retire to begin their deliberations.
Aidan's lawyer James Miglin maintained the stabbing was an accident, and Aidan had no reason to want to end Tanti's life, calling any allusion to the contrary "absurd."
"Mr. Kee, attempting to bring a fight to an end by jerseying Mr. Tanti, lost his grip on his knife," Miglin told the jury. "It snapped open and wounded Mr. Tanti."
In his 40 minute address, Miglin emphasized Aidan took possession of his knife in an act of self defense. This, after an initial altercation started by Tanti, upset over his earlier ejection from Onyx Nightclub.
Tanti was in possession of a beer bottle when he went outside the pool hall to confront the Kee brothers, a confrontation that saw Aidan sustain an injury to his eye.
"It was Mr. Kee's belief, and what I say is his correct belief, that something more than a fist was used (during the first altercation)," Miglin said in court.
"Nobody is suggesting that Mr. Tanti broke this bottle in half, and used it as a knife, or that he violently smashed it over Aidan Kee's head. But it was used in some manner. And that's clear from all the evidence."
He also made note the knife was not open when Aidan approached Tanti and grabbed him - in what the defense contends was in a defensive manner - resulting in the start of the second altercation.
Miglin contends the stabbing happened when the fight reached a parking spot, next to a red pick up truck, which devolved into more of a wrestling match.
"Mr. Tanti was wounded by accident," he said. "(Tanti) was never stabbed."
He doubled down on the timing of the stabbing by bringing up the cut on Tanti's jersey, telling the jury the scuffle at the truck is the only point where the cut and the wound align.
The Crown, however, has a different view. They believe the stabbing happened before they reached the truck, at the start of the second altercation, as Tanti was coming outside.
"Aidan Kee, hiding behind an alcove, intentionally stabbed an unsuspecting Nick Tanti in the chest with a nine-and-a-half-inch knife," said Crown attorney Tom Meehan during his one-hour closing address.
"He didn't mean to kill him, but he did mean to cause Mr. Tanti bodily harm that he knew was so serious and dangerous, that (it) would likely kill him."
He alluded to Tanti's jersey, stained in blood, and told the jury there's video evidence showing the jersey is stained before Aidan and Tanti reach the truck.
Meehan also contends Aidan would not have been in a position to see Tanti walking through Tony's. And if he did, Meehan argues Tanti clearly had nothing in his hands, and was "walking with some authority."
Meehan also cited the lack of defensive injuries to Tanti to substantiate his timeline of the events. He added both Angus and Tony's staff member Jesse Brace – who were trying to split the two of them up – did not suffer any injuries.
Speaking of Angus, the Crown and defense also differ on his role in the altercation.
More specifically, what he saw and what he knows about what happened in the moment.
Meehan said Angus handled Tanti's blood-stained jersey, would've seen the blood and realized how serious the situation was.
"Angus threw the bloody jersey in the doorway of Tony's, where he would've been in position to see Nick Tanti fatally wounded in the doorway," he said. "Some of Nick's blood even found itself onto Angus' clothing."
Upon Guelph police officers approaching the Kee brothers after the fact, Meehan said the only reason Aidan would hand his property over to Angus is so it doesn't fall into the hands of police.
"While Aidan will believe that this was to protect his property, and figured it would be easier to get his stuff back if his brother had it, the nature of the items handed over (fails to justify) that assertion," the Crown said.
"The knife was just used in a stabbing, and we would say (the knife) was not a benign item like a wallet or a set of keys."
Meehan said Angus knew things were getting bad when Aidan went to go hide, and stood by nearby "as his brother thrust at Mr. Tant's chest with a knife."
Angus' defense lawyer Paula Roachman, contends Tanti had a short fuse on Feb. 29 and Angus would not have known Aidan and Tanti had a history.
Further, Roachman said Angus was punched and knocked down while trying to break the two combatants.
"When he gets up, we know Mr. Tanti has already been stabbed," she said. "This is the likely explanation for how a few droplets of Mr. Tanti's blood are on Angus' shoes and jacket, having dripped down from Mr. Tanti when Angus is on the ground."
She added it's unlikely Angus saw what happened, saying when he got up, Tanti had walked away with his back to him, so Angus wouldn't have seen Tanti bleeding.
"Mr. Tanti is always facing away from Angus," she said. "The wound is seen by people who are facing him."
Roachman told the jury Angus threw Tanti's shirt into the doorway, and was already walking down the sidewalk with Aidan before Tanti collapsed.
She concluded that both Kee brothers cooperated with police upon arrest, and Angus wouldn't have had time to process why Aidan is handing over his things to him, including the knife.
Aidan, 28, is facing a charge of second-degree murder. Angus, 24, is charged with accessory after the fact murder.
