Closing arguments wrap up at Nick Tanti murder trial

Closing arguments began Friday at the trial of two brothers charged in the death of Nick Tanti.

Tanti was fatally stabbed during an altercation outside a downtown Guelph bar in February 2020.

Aidan Kee is charged with second-degree murder.

His lawyer addressed the jury on Friday morning, calling the case "tragic" and Tanti’s death the result of self-defense with an "unintended consequence." The lawyer told jurors that Aidan only brought out the knife, which he testified was closed, following a fight that Tanti started. He said Aidan lost his grip on the knife and it snapped open, fatally injuring Tanti. He also toldthe jury that Aidan considered Tanti a friend and would never stab him on purpose.

Tanti's mother said it had been a difficult trial to sit through.

"I had to take a couple of days off work because I needed to regroup," Sharon Tanti told CTV News.

The Crown dropped the manslaughter charge against Aidan's brother Angus Kee on Monday, saying there was no possibility of conviction on that count. The only charge Angus is now facing is accessory after the fact.

His defense lawyer also addressed the jury Friday, urging them to carefully consider the evidence presented in court. She said it was unlikely Angus saw what happened because he was knocked down trying to break up the fight, and stressed there was no way Angus could have known the altercation would lead to Tanti's death.

The Crown told the jury that Aidan had the intent to cause bodily harm when he took out his knife and hid on the side of the doorway. He went on to say that following the first altercation, Aidan had every right to be mad, but did not need to retaliate. He also referred to the surveillance footage, which he said showed that Tanti had nothing in his hands when he stepped outside the bar.

Sharon Tanti hopes she'll get some measure of closure soon.

"It's not going to bring him back," she said. "The events still happened."

The judge is expected to give the jury its charge on Monday and then deliberations will begin.

WHAT THE JURORS LEARNED IN COURT

Court was shown a video of the moments leading up to Tanti's death on Tuesday.

Aidan and his brother Angus could be seen walking outside the Macdonell Street bar when Tanti appears. The brothers turn around, then Tanti pushes and punches Aidan. The physical altercation continues and then the video shows Tanti walking away and going into the bar while Aidan is outside, holding a knife in his right hand. Tanti returns outside and Aidan grabs him by the collar, continuing the fight. The video does not show the entire altercation, as some of it was hidden by a red truck parked in the area. Tanti can then be seen clutching his chest as blood drips from a wound. He later died from his injuries.

Aidan testified on Monday May 30 that he and Angus were walking home from the bar when Tanti appeared, yelling about an earlier situation. He said Tanti pushed and punched him, causing him to fall and his eye to bleed.

"I saw an object in his hand, I didn't know what it was, but I was bleeding, so I thought he hit me with the object,"he said.

Aidan then told the court that he wanted Tanti to come back outside so they could talk and "shake hands."

"I saw Nick come walking towards the door and he still looked pretty angry," he testified. "And I started to panic a little."

Aidan pulled out his knife but claimed the blade was closed.

"If he didn't have a weapon, I had no intention of using the knife," he told the court. "I wanted to make sure the blade was closed."

Aidan then described the struggle that ensued and stated that's when he saw the knife on the ground. He testified that he never would have intentionally opened the blade.

"Nick was my friend," he told the court. "I would never try to stab him."

-- With reporting by Stephanie Villella, Krista Simpson and Carmen Wong