Michael Elendu, a man accused of killing his roommate Kyreese Wright, took the stand on Friday to testify in his own defense. Elendu is facing a second-degree murder charge for stabbing Wright in the heart with a sword in December 2020. Elendu admitted to killing Wright but claims that it was unintentional and that he grabbed the sword for self-defense.
According to Elendu’s testimony, he and another roommate were cleaning when Wright came downstairs, angry over Elendu’s loud music. Elendu claims that Wright began making threats against him, so he followed the victim upstairs. Wright reportedly threatened to kill Elendu and call his cousins to deal with him.
Elendu testified that he retrieved a katana sword that belonged to a friend and then headed down to another roommate’s basement bedroom, where Wright had gone after the argument. He claims that he did not mean to stab Wright and said he grabbed the sword for self-defense. However, the prosecutor suggested that a more appropriate weapon for self-defense would have been the bear spray, which was in the same closet as the sword.
During the cross-examination, prosecutor Samina Dhalla pointed out contradictory evidence between Elendu and other witnesses. Two roommates testified that Elendu returned to the room where Wright was stabbed and took a video of the dying man while taunting him. But Elendu denied coming back to take a cellphone video.
The defense team told jurors that they will call an expert witness who tested the type of sword used by Elendu. The witness is expected to testify that the level of force required to achieve the type of injury suffered by Wright is equivalent to lifting a one-litre carton of milk.
Elendu’s defense lawyers have argued that he is guilty only of manslaughter, not second-degree murder. They claim that Elendu has taken responsibility for his actions and that every story has two sides. The trial is ongoing, and the verdict is yet to be reached.