A Surrey Mountie who interviewed murder suspect Kaiden Mintenko six days after a 17-year-old boy was mortally stabbed on a bus in Whalley in 2023 testified Thursday that his purpose was not to extract a confession but rather "provide an atmosphere where Mr. Mintenko, if willing, would provide a version of events, or his truth of events as he so saw them."

Sergeant David Sylka, of the Surrey RCMP's serious crimes unit, took the 21-year-old Burnaby man's statement on April 17, 2023, one day after his arrest, at what was the Surrey RCMP headquarters in Newton before the Surrey Police Service of jurisdiction on Nov. 29, 2024.

The first interview was three hours and 28 minutes, followed by another that was one hour and four minutes, with video and audio equipment running. "He had spoken to his lawyer, and spoke with his lawyer in person," the sergeant testified.

Sylka described the interviewing model he used as "a non-confrontational approach, very calm, allowing for them to choose whether they wish to provide any statement, with the objective of gathering evidence."

He told the court he's done roughly 20 to 30 of these types of interviews.

Mintenko has to second-degree murder and his trial is set for 15 days in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster with Justice Terry Schultes presiding. It got underway on Dec. 2.

Crown prosecutor Elise Kohno told Schultes during her opening remarks on Dec. 2 that Mintenko had "initially denied any involvement with (the victim's) death, saying he was at home on the evening (the victim) died," but later confessed to the stabbing, telling police he believed the victim to be "someone who took photographs of young girls at the mall."

The victim was stabbed in the chest while riding on a Route 503 bus in the 9900-block of King George Boulevard on April 11, 2023 and died in hospital that night. Schultes imposed publication bans on information that would identify the victim and two Crown witnesses. He also ordered a temporary publication ban on the identity of a fourth person.

Sylka identified Mintenko in court, noting he was wearing a blue collared shirt.

Earlier Thursday another police officer told the court a knife sheath was seized from Mintenko's home that was just over 12 inches long, for a 7.5-inch long blade that would have been an inch and a quarter wide. Police never found the knife.

The court heard on the bus.

Two passengers who were on the 503 bus testified on Tuesday.

Bus rider Anthony Isadoro said at first he thought the attacker was only punching the victim but then saw blood coming out of the teen's mouth. The witness took a quick video, replayed it "and saw that a knife was used in the attack."

The victim was trying to protect himself, Isadoro said. "He went down to the floor.

"He was crawling on the floor, asking for help."

"I was really scared, I was so nervous," Isadoro told the court.

Fellow bus rider Sonia Keshane also testified, at times with a wavering voice.

She said she was in the lineup when the victim cut into the front of the line. "He kept looking back as if something was chasing him or he was looking for someone."

"He butted in line, in front of everyone."

The victim sat in front of her. The bus filled up. 

The witness told the court the "girl that was with the man was on the phone" and told someone on the other end to meet her at King George SkyTrain station. "She was very demanding with whoever she was on the phone with." After she was on the phone, Keshane said, "she said something to the young man that was in front of me and the young man got up. Just when he was getting up the other man hit him, like nudged him and I don't know if anything, words were exchanged, but the young man that was stabbed walked to the front of the bus."

Keshane said when the bus arrived at the station "everybody started getting off and I stood up and wondering why everybody was getting off. I asked and nobody said anything until I actually got up and walked to the front and looked."

"I heard 'Help me, help me,'" she testified.

"I heard the help me, help me and then I went to the front and I saw this young man on the floor in the bus and already there was blood coming from under him and so I went to the back and I told the people in the back get off the bus because somebody is hurt and I got everybody off the bus. And there was a gentleman in the back and I asked him if he had, like I can't remember but I think I asked him like to help and if he had anything to stop the bleeding with. I believe he took something out of his bag, a jacket out of his backpack and he thought the blood was coming from the neck so he was concentrating on the neck and I also gave my scarf to stop the bleeding."

She said she could hardly feel the victim's pulse, "but I kept checking, and we didn't know where the blood was coming from."

Keshane said once police arrived they ripped open the victim's shirt "and it was only then that I saw where the wound was, and it was on the right side in the chest-breast area."

The trial continues.