The message sent to Emily Altmann while a teen was dying from a gunshot wound along a path at a southwest London bush party was crystal clear.
“Tell everyone to keep their (expletive) mouths shut,” the text read. “If he dies, you already know what time it is.”
“If anyone in your group snitched, you know what’s going to happen to them.”
By then, Altmann and her friends were back at their cars after running away after Altmann had summoned Carlos Guerra Guerra and his friends to the party to settle the score that started at a bonfire with a thrown drink.
The messages, assistant Crown attorney Kristina Mildred said in her opening address to a Superior Court jury, were from Guerra Guerra, 23, on trial with Altmann, 22, on charges of second-degree murder of Western University student Josue Silva, 18, and assault with a weapon of one of Silva’s friends during an eruption of violence at about 1 a.m. on July 31, 2021.
At the outset Wednesday of the trial expected to last 10 weeks, Mildred rolled out an outline of what she and assistant Crown attorney Jennifer Moser expect to present.
Mildred advised the jury that what she was telling them was a bare-bones summary or “a snapshot” of what’s coming. It’s clear from what she said that there are many moving parts in the trial.
The heart of the matter, as Mildred explained it, is this: Silva and his friends were warned about people arriving at the party wearing masks and carrying weapons. He and his friends hid in some bushes and emerged once they thought the coast was clear.
But it wasn’t. Silva was shot in the abdomen. His friends stayed with him, while Altmann, Guerra Guerra and others ran away, Mildred said.
Along with substantial forensic and digital evidence, some of it retrieved from Altmann’s laptop computer, the jury will hear testimony from many of the 100-plus young people who attended the party in a clearing at the end of a long path near Pack Road and Grand Oak Crossing.
Mildred told the jury that Altmann and five women, all of whom are expected to testify, drove to the party in Altmann’s BMW. One of the women’s boyfriends showed up later.
Silva was there with five friends and they were hanging out with a much larger bunch of people at the party that lasted several hours.
Mildred focused her address on key moments of the night. The first was “a thrown drink and a verbal altercation.” Some of Altmann’s group believed the girlfriend of one of Silva’s friends was taking photos or videos of them and some members of Altmann’s group thought the girlfriend intentionally threw a can at them.
That started a verbal altercation and the jury will hear about what was said. The boyfriend of Altmann’s friend “physically picked up (his girlfriend) and began to carry her out of the party,” Mildred said. Altmann and her friends left too.
That was the first time Altmann departed, and the jury is likely to hear what she was saying while walking on the path back to her car and driving away. She also contacted several people, including Guerra Guerra, who was at a party on the other side of the city near Fanshawe College.
Altmann drove back to the party while Guerra Guerra drove in his white Dodge Journey with three friends to meet her. Mildred said the jury will see messages exchanged during Guerra Guerra’s drive.
The texts are believed to be between Altmann and Guerra Guerra and Altmann and one of Guerra Guerra’s friends in the Dodge Journey. Mildred stressed she was only quoting some of the messages and the jury will hear more. In them are updates of how long it would take for Guerra Guerra to get there until he arrived at 12:38 a.m.
Other messages to Guerra Guerra’s friend from Altmann indicated she was angry and “I have never gotten into a fight . . . “, and later, “I want to (expletive) this (expletive) up. She has so much attitude.”
Altmann and two of her friends left her car while two stayed behind. Guerra Guerra parked just in front of Altmann at the side of the road. A group of party-goers was leaving the party at the same time.
“You will hear about their observations. Their observations of weapons, of masked men and that those observations caused them great concerns. As a result, they contacted friends still in the bush bash to warn them,” Mildred said.
Silva’s friend received a message, causing Silva and his friends to hide in the bushes. Altmann, Guerra Guerra and their group walked to the bonfire, Mildred said, and the jury will hear what was said.
Eventually, Altmann, Guerra Guerra and their friends decided to leave and started walking up the path back to Pack Road. Silva and his friends were beginning to move from their hiding spots back to the main path, leading to “a physical confrontation.” Silva was shot in the abdomen at close range.
“You are going to hear evidence from many different people from many different perspectives about the final altercation,” Mildred told the jury. “At the end of the trial, during closing arguments, we, the Crown, will explain our theory as to what the evidence shows.”
Silva was responsive for some time after he was shot, Mildred said, and 911 was called. He died at hospital.
Mildred said during a search of a crime scene, the police found a machete midway up the path in a bush, a nine-millimetre bullet casing near what appeared to be blood and a COVID mask that was found to have DNA that was a close match to Guerra Guerra. Another machete was found in Guerra Guerra’s vehicle.
The Crown will call its first witness on Thursday morning.
Mildred wasn’t able to present her opening statement until late Wednesday afternoon because of a major hiccup at the start of the day. Fourteen jurors and two alternates were picked on Tuesday after a day-long vetting. The hope was Justice Patricia Moore would address the jury Wednesday morning, followed by the Crown’s opening address.
However, five jurors returned Wednesday with concerns and reasons for not being able to serve at the lengthy trial. After Moore spoke to them, she released them. Some of the remaining jury panel was asked to return Wednesday and more potential jurors were vetted. A full complement was in place by early afternoon.
The trial continues Thursday.