Man receives 4-year sentence for bayonet manslaughter in Truro, N.S.

Nathan Knockwood woke up lying on the floor and looking up at Troy Whidden holding a bayonet and pressing his knee into his stomach. In the ensuing struggle, Knockwood seized the weapon and stabbed Whidden in the leg before striking him several times.

Later that day, Whidden’s body was found with multiple wounds to his face and leg. Police arrested Knockwood in Victoria Park in Truro, N.S., in November 2021. He spent nearly three years in custody before he was sentenced.

Justice Jamie Campbell read out the agreed statement of facts in the case before sentencing Knockwood, 33, to eight-and-a-half years in jail for manslaughter on July 10.

Campbell said Whidden got the bayonet from Knockwood in a trade the day before the incident. In the early morning hours of Nov. 21, 2021, the men, who had “both been drinking heavily,” engaged in a fight. After stabbing and striking Whidden, Knockwood hit him with the blunt end of the bayonet “to make sure he was knocked out.”

Campbell noted Knockwood posted pictures of Whidden’s body to Facebook and left the scene without calling for help.

“Those circumstances are bizarre and troubling,” Campbell said in the written decision. “It is a gruesome scene that suggests a gruesome scenario.”

According to the facts, a medical examiner’s report said Whidden bled out after the femoral vein in his left leg was perforated. The bayonet was found stuck to the floor next to Whidden’s body.

Campbell said Knockwood’s father called the police after his son told him he’d been involved in a fight and a man had died. Officers searched Knockwood’s home and found bloody pants.

The statement of facts says Knockwood pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

“Self-defence does not apply because Mr. Knockwood used excessive force in dealing with the threat posed by Troy Whidden,” Campbell said in the written decision. “Once Mr. Knockwood had disarmed Mr. Whidden by taking the bayonet from him, it was not reasonable for him to have stabbed him and struck him.

“The plea was not to murder because it could not be proven that Mr. Knockwood intended to kill Troy Whidden as intent to kill is defined in law.”

Campbell noted Knockwood, from We’koqma’q First Nation, is the grandson of Noel Knockwood, a “spiritual leader in the Mi’kmaq community and a highly respected and honoured Nova Scotian.”

“Noel Knockwood was a shining light for many young Nova Scotian and New Brunswick Mi’kmaq,” Campbell said. “The fact that Nathan Knockwood is his grandson compounds the tragedy.”

The written decision says Nathan Knockwood has struggled with homelessness, alcohol, and trauma. His criminal record includes robbery, assault, and failing to comply with conditions.

“He has issues that he will have to deal with, but there is no indication from his criminal record that Nathan Knockwood is a person who has adopted a criminal lifestyle and a criminal value system,” Campbell said. “He does not have a serious criminal record that would suggest that he is embedded in a criminal subculture.”

Campbell gave Knockwood 1,504 days of remand credit for his time in custody since 2021, meaning his actual sentence going forward will be four years and 138 days.

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