A Crown witness in a Surrey murder trial testified Tuesday that a girl who was with the young man accused of stabbing a 17-year-old boy to death on a Surrey bus in 2023 knew the victim and would "try to egg him on" whenever they crossed paths.

"She would spot us and then she would just start like yelling, you couldn't really understand what she was saying."

Kaiden Mintenko, 21, of Burnaby has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the 2023 stabbing of a 17-year-old boy on a Surrey bus in 2023. The trial is set for 15 days in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster with Justice Terry Schultes presiding.

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 teen and two Crown witnesses and also ordered a temporary publication ban on the identity of a fourth person. 

The witness, whose identity is shielded by the ban, said the victim "was like a brother to me." He said he saw the girl and the victim interact nine or 10 times. "They would start to argue a lot."

There was an incident where she threatened to mace the victim and himself in early 2022, the court heard.

The witness said he was aware of rumours that the victim was a pedophile but told the court there was no truth to it and that he doesn't know who started them.

Crown prosecutor Elise Kohno told Schultes that the girl who was with Mintenko "appeared to confront" the victim at a bus stop prior to the stabbing. "The two appear to have exchanged some words," she said, before the victim turned around and walked away. She then returned to Mintenko, who was waiting in line. 

Kohno told the court Mintenko, when on the bus, punched the victim six times, causing him to fall, and then stabbed him. After the couple ran off the bus – she from the middle door and he out the front – the victim staggered to get up, "screams in pain and calls for help," collapsed to the ground "and a pool of blood begins to form around him." He was taken to hospital where he died that night.

Kohno said Mintenko was arrested on April 16 at his home in Burnaby and on the following day gave a statement to police. "In that statement he initially denied any involvement with (the victim's) death, saying he was at home on the evening (the victim) died," Kohno said. But later, she told the court, Mintenko confessed to the stabbing, telling police he believed the victim to be "someone who took photographs of young girls at the mall."

The court heard that the victim and witness exchanged text messages before he was stabbed. He walked him to the bus stop.

He said the victim texted him that the girl was there, talked to him and the bus was coming in a few minutes. The witness responded "Ok, what did she say?" The victim responded "bus is here...on the damn bus with me...bus is going should I stop somewhere??"

"And then I said what do you mean stop somewhere? KK I hear her yelling."

The witness asked him if he was going to wait for another bus. "The next bus that would come, the next 503."

"IDK (I don't know). I guess so."

"I said is she on the 503 with you?" He asked him if his mom would be meeting him down the line.

"?? Yo are you OK?"

Receiving no more messages, he contacted the victim's mom and through that found out what happened.

The trial continues.