Latest News

Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

Trial underway for man accused in deadly stabbing

By: Mike McIntyre

Posted: 10/29/2012 1:53 PM | Last Modified: 10/29/2012 2:24 PM | Updates

Derek Spence

A jury trial is underway for a Winnipeg man accused of stabbing of a young father of two to death during a dispute over a few dollars.

Leonard Leslie Murdock, 25, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder Monday at the start of his week-long trial.

Derek Robert Spence, 24, was fatally knifed in the 500 block of Manitoba Avenue in August 2010.

Police say Spence had gotten involved in a fight with another man over "a small amount of money", at which time he was allegedly attacked by the knife-wielding Murdock and stabbed once in the chest. He was rushed to hospital but could not be saved.

"I don't think there's any amount of money that would justify this type of situation, but my understanding is it does appear to be for a small amount of money (of less than $10)," Winnipeg police Const. Jason Michalyshen said at the time. "Many times it's over very insignificant things and that truly is a tragedy."

Family and friends of Spence said he'd been working as a roofer, and that he had an eight-year-old daughter and four-year-old son who did not live with him.

Michalyshen said the victim and the accused were "acquaintances."

www.mikeoncrime.com

History

Updated on Monday, October 29, 2012 at 2:24 PM CDT: photo added

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.