Lawyers deliver closing arguments in Denecho King murder trial

There was a noticeable sense of relief and also some anger from relatives of two victims of a deadly 2014 attack in Yellowknife, after the four-week trial of the man accused of it came to a close last week.

Colin Digness was severely injured and his best friend, John Wifladt, was killed in the deadly sword attack in Digness' apartment three and a half years ago.

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Denecho King, 25, is charged with murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault in connection with the incident, and faced a trial by judge alone.

During closing statements on Friday, King's lawyer, Jay Bran, reiterated the defence's theory that the two friends attacked one another.

That wasn't easy for one victim's relative to hear.

"I can't handle what he's saying about my brother," said Louis Mandeville, the brother of Colin Digness, standingoutside the courtroom after lawyers gave their closing statements. "You don't hurt people you love."

Defence reiterates theory friends attacked each other

Digness previously testified he blacked out from alcohol consumption hours before the attack and has no memory of it.

Digness said he and Wifladt had once recreated a Star Wars lightsaber fight using the decorative swords hehad in his apartment, which were used in the attack.

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"Maybe Colin grabs one of his swords and says, 'Let's do one of those Star Wars battles,'" said Bran. "Or maybe he doesn't say anything. Maybe he just picks up a sword and starts swinging it around. The game becomes more serious. The swords start to make more contact. What started out as fun becomes something serious."

Investigators found none of King's fingerprints or blood in the apartment, but they found his DNA on the handles of the swords used in the attack.

Bran said that DNA was likely collected by Digness and Wifladt when they returned to the apartment earlier, after a night of drinking, and by medics and police when they arrived at the apartment.

'Overwhelming amount' of DNA on swords

"The problem with that theory is the DNA expert has found such an overwhelming amount of DNA on those swords," said Crown prosecutor Alex Godfrey. "There would have to be a hundred people who touched those swords with Mr. King's DNA to add up to that amount."

The expert said direct skin contact typically leaves only one nanogram or less of DNA on an object. A nanogram is one billionth of a gram.

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There were 10 nanograms of DNA found on the handle of one sword and 12 nanograms on the other.

The DNA expert said those amounts included trace amounts of other people's DNA, but the vast majority on both swords matched King's DNA profile.

Hearing 'all the details' hard for family

The four-week trial was an exhausting ordeal for the parents and sisters of John Wifladt, who sat through every day of it.

"There were times when it seemed things were going the right way and times when it didn't seem like it was and it was bad," said Jack Wifladt, John's father.

John Wifladt's sister, Heather Poluk, spent much of the trial embracing her mother. The two wept together as graphic details and photos of the attack were presented.

• Want more on theDenecho King Trial? Follow CBC's coverage here

"Sitting through all the details was really hard," said Poluk. "It still breaks my heart when I see my parents and my family hurting, but everyone else has been incredibly kind and just made that a little bit easier."

Justice Andrew Mahar said he will deliver his verdict on July 6.