MMA Fighter on Trial for Friend's Death

0:00It's April 15th. You're listening to Sidney News today, AI-powered local news. I'm Cory with the story. A mixed martial arts fighter named Bradley Dussand Fletcher is on trial for murdering his best friend Bradley Evenet during a backyard sparring. Session in Mellembaugh, near Mount Druid, back in March 2024. The 37-year-old pro-cage fighter claims it was just an accident. He says he accidentally kicked Evenet in the head while they were mucking. Around. Prosecutors argue he got angry and repeatedly struck his friend in the head and torso, leading to his death. The two buddies were celebrating Fletcher moving into a new rental that afternoon, both drinking alcohol and using cocaine while lightly sparring and, showing off moves. Things started bubbly according to witnesses, but tensions rose fast. Evenet was 32, with a genetic brittle bone condition diagnosed at age 12, something Fletcher knew about, and they'd never fought before. After Evenet stopped breathing, Fletcher called his girlfriend instead of an ambulance,

1:02then later moved the body to a nearby street before police. Caught up. Forensic experts say the cause was multiple blunt force injuries to the head and body, and Evenet's condition played no role. Fletcher pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but the crown rejected it, pushing for murder over intent to cause serious harm. Defense says it stayed friendly, sparring gone wrong with drugs in the mix. No intent to really hurt. The jury's weighing all that now in a trial set to run up to four weeks, deciding if regret changes the story, or if those blows crossed the line.