‘Blood on his hands and shoes’: officer testifies in Keith Overholt murder case

Overholt is accused of brutally attacking unsuspecting people over a seven-hour period, including the fatal stabbing of a man. Today marked the third day of his trial.

Today, the court heard from Officer Matthew Kennett, who arrested a man he identified in court as Keith Overholt following a 911 call in which a 39-year-old man told the operator that someone had tried to stab him.

Overholt was arrested near Jackson Street and MacNab Street.

At the time of his arrest, Overholt told the officer his name was Michael Kane.

Officer Kennett testified that he saw blood on Overholt’s hands and on his distinct white New Balance running shoes, which had an “N” on the sides and a black heel. He also found a knife in Overholt’s jacket pocket.

Another officer, Sergeant James Clayton, testified that he also observed the blood on Overholt’s hands and shoes when he was brought to the police station.

The 911 call came minutes after Overholt allegedly stabbed 29-year-old Andrew Ainscow to death in an alley near James Street South and Bold Street. Ainscow was stabbed 37 times.

Hours earlier, Overholt allegedly attacked a woman with a stick at York Boulevard and Queen Street.

Between the assault and the stabbing, officers had spotted a man who somewhat matched the suspect’s description. His clothes were slightly different, but he was wearing white New Balance running shoes. The suspect had also identified himself as Michael Kane.

The officers took photos of the man but said they didn’t have enough evidence to arrest him at that point.

Surveillance video of the assault and the stabbing was previously shown to the jury.

The defense argued that the retaining wall where Andrew Ainscow was killed blocked the camera’s view of the actual events and that there was also about a minute of missing footage from the surveillance recording.

Today, the court was shown photos from the homicide scene. Detective Michael Cole testified that there was blood smeared on the retaining wall and a pool of blood on the ground near Ainscow’s body. He noted that there were no drops of blood or shoe prints around the scene.

The trial by jury continues on Monday.