Defendant addresses judge, prosecution adds new witness in stabbing trial

<p>The trial against a man accused of killing a young boy and injuring a young girl in a June 2014 stabbing continued Monday.</p>

News 12 Staff

Mar 26, 2018, 10:16 PM

Updated 2,234 days ago

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The trial against a man accused of killing a young boy and injuring a young girl in a June 2014 stabbing continued Monday with a surprising request from the defendant himself and the prosecution adding a new witness.
Daniel St. Hubert is accused of stabbing 6-year-old PJ Avitto and then-7-year-old Mikayla Capers inside an elevator at the Boulevard Houses in East New York. Avitto died of his wounds, while Capers survived and went on to testify in the trial.
For about 15 minutes Monday morning, the courtroom was sealed as St. Hubert directly addressed the judge with only his attorney and prosecutor allowed in the room. Jurors and anyone from the public were excluded.
News 12 is told that what St. Hubert said will not be released until after the trial. Prior to the request, St. Hubert and his attorney were informed that a new witness, Capers' great-grandmother Regenia Trevathan, would be added to the witness list, despite having been in the courtroom for the whole trial.
It's unfair that Trevathan was present during all previous testimony, Greenberg argued. The judge said he would still allow her to testify and that Greenberg would have every opportunity to cross-examine her. She's is expected to address the defense's assertion that Capers saw St. Hubert's picture on the news, which the defense claims led her to believe him to be the killer.
Jurors later Monday heard from two women who were in a park where Avitto and Capers had been playing prior to the attack. They both described seeing a man who they identified as St. Hubert fall down a hill, seemingly in a hurry. While Greenberg would not directly answer whether his client was that man in the park, he maintains that St. Hubert is innocent. Greenberg says a hat found in the elevator where the stabbing took place, which prosecutors have said belonged to Avitto, is the key to finding the real killer.
Jurors are expected to hear from several more witnesses in the coming days, including Trevathan.
Closing arguments were initially expected Tuesday, but with several delays from late from jurors and a snowstorm, there's no word on when they will be delivered.


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