Trial underway for Calgary man accused of beating roommate to death

A Calgary man is facing a charge of manslaughter in the 2022 death of his former roommate, and prosecutors argue it all started over what appeared to be a relatively minor argument over property.

The trial of 48-year-old Collin Dean Oxtoby is expected to run for two weeks.

On July 8, 2022, police were called to a home in the city’s southeast for reports of a man in medical distress who was a victim of assault.

Officers say 55-year-old Kevin Allen Honish was taken to Foothills Hospital with serious head injuries, where he died eight days later.

On Monday, Crown prosecutors introduced their first witness, Honish’s then-girlfriend, who said the assault took place at a home in Inglewood, where Oxtoby and Honish lived as roommates.

She testified she heard Oxtoby, in another room, accuse Honish of stealing from him, and when she entered, she found the 58-year-old bleeding from the head.

The couple left for her home in Southview, where Honish began falling in and out of consciousness.

Prosecutors argue Oxtoby used a hammer to fatally injure Honish, however, courts learned Honish was a victim of a similar incident about two days before by another person.

The Crown is believed to argue the injuries Honish suffered at the hands of Oxtoby were a contributing cause, if not the sole cause of Honish’s death.

The defense has yet to make its case.

The trial is expected to last until April 6.