Hamilton court sees video of 2020 stabbing victim’s last moments before death

Thursday was the second day of the first-degree murder trial of a man accused of brutally attacking unsuspecting people in Hamilton in November 2020.

The court saw the last moments of 29-year-old Andrew Ainscow’s life, before he was allegedly stabbed to death in an alley.

The court heard from Det. Nesreen Shawihat, one of the investigators tasked with going through the surveillance video from that violent night in downtown Hamilton.

Keith Overholt is charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death and appeared in court Thursday. He is also facing two counts of attempted murder, and pleading innocent to all charges.
At 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 9, 2020, a man matching Overholt’s description is captured on security camera walking in an alley behind Duke Street, hours after violently attacking a woman with a stick at York Boulevard and Queen Street.

According to video shown to the court, Andrew Ainscow was seen walking in that same alley moments before and stopping at a concrete barrier, just out of camera view. Overholt then bends over, stands back up, bends over again, lunges forward, stands up again, and then leaves.

WATCH MORE: Hamilton court sees surveillance video of brutal stick beating of woman in 2020

This all happens after 1 a.m., and video shows Ainscow was not discovered until a car entered the laneway the next morning at 6:52 a.m., and police say he was stabbed 37 times.

The court also heard a 911 call minutes after Overholt allegedly stabbed Ainscow to death, in which a 39-year-old man told the operator that “somebody tried to stab him, and they are outside and around the area still.” He told them that he fell and scraped his knuckle and knees and he was bleeding, but didn’t think he’d been stabbed.

That incident happened on MacNab Street, and police have video of it as well. The victim managed to run to the YMCA to call for help.

The defence argued that the retaining wall where Andrew Ainscow was killed blocked the camera’s view of what actually happened, and that there was also about a minute where the surveillance camera didn’t record anything. The defence asked the detective if she knew what happened during that time, to which she answered, “no I don’t.”

The trial by jury continues Friday.

WATCH MORE: Man charged in violent attack considered a suspect in homicide: Hamilton police