Warning: this story contains details of violence.

When Luke Priddle thinks back to the fateful night of Dec. 28, 2020 in Tofino, he remembers a fight for his life.

Priddle, 27, is facing charges of second degree murder in the death of Mathew Phillips, 47. Priddle is also charged with robbery and theft of a motor vehicle.

During the second week of his trial in Port Alberni, the BC Supreme Court jury heard from Priddle and defence counsel, Dale Marshall, that Priddle had been struggling off-and-on with cocaine use since the age of 19. Hospitality closures related to COVID-19 in 2020 meant that Priddle 鈥� at that time 23 years old 鈥� lost his job at the Wickaninnish Inn.

That downtime led to increased cocaine use, Marshall told the jury on Wednesday, April 2.

In the early morning hours of Dec. 28, Priddle says he went over to the home of Mathew Phillips for sex, after which the two began cutting lines of cocaine with Priddle鈥檚 knife. 

Near the end of the visit, an argument began over some cocaine that Priddle had purchased from Phillips earlier in the evening. Priddle owed Phillips $300, but had only sent an e-transfer for $44 because it was all he had in his bank account. It was at this point that Phillips started to get 鈥渁nimated,鈥� said Priddle, and prevented Priddle from leaving the suite. The altercation turned physical, and Priddle says Phillips was the first one to grab the knife.

Priddle鈥檚 recollection of the night only comes in 鈥渟napshots鈥� because he was 鈥渞eally high鈥� at the time, Priddle told the jury on Wednesday.

At one point, Priddle says he was able to get control of the knife, but ended up getting pinned by Phillips.

鈥淚 was afraid he was going to kill me,鈥� Priddle recalled. 鈥淚 started swinging with the knife to try and get him off.鈥�

Priddle has 鈥渘o idea鈥� how many times he struck Phillips with the knife, but an autopsy counted a total of 67 stab wounds on Phillips鈥� body, along with several other incisions and blunt force trauma.

At one point, Priddle stabbed Phillips in the neck, and Phillips dropped to the ground. Priddle says he knew "right then and there" that Phillips was dead.

Despite his foggy memory, Priddle says he does not believe he had any intention of killing Phillips. 

鈥淚 just tried to do everything I could to get [him] off of me and get out of the house,鈥� he said.

Afterwards, Priddle says he went to the washroom to wash his hands, which were bleeding. Priddle had been stabbed in the left hand during the altercation, and had severed the tendon in his right hand while grabbing the knife.

At some point, he found a bag of cocaine in the apartment and began using it. The jury heard that Priddle spent the next two days in a cocaine-induced haze. He took Phillips鈥� car keys and his Honda CR-V and drove around the West Coast. Phone records show that he communicated with his friends and his mother and made a Google search for criminal defence lawyers.

He abandoned the Honda at the Gas N Go parking lot in Tofino, tossing the keys into a nearby bush. He got a ride to Nanaimo from a friend, but first stopped back at the scene of the crime and turned on the stove burners.

He doesn鈥檛 recall what happened to the knife. He also doesn鈥檛 recall taking a stash of money in a wooden box from Phillips' home, but agreed that at some point he ended up with the wooden box on his person. He abandoned this box in Nanaimo.

鈥淚 was scared,鈥� Priddle said. 鈥淚 was distraught. I didn鈥檛 know what to do. And on top of all that, I was high.鈥�

Phillips' body was discovered by RCMP on Dec. 30, 2020.

The trial was expected to continue on Thursday and Friday with more evidence from the defence. Both Crown and counsel for the defence are expected to make their closing statements on Monday, April 7.