Daniel Ruff told a friend if he ever fought his roommate again, he would probably kill him.
A jury heard witness testimonies during a trial in B.C. Supreme Court in Kelowna, Friday.
Witness Brett Tomenchuk was called to the stand and testified he was a friend and neighbour of the accused Ruff, 55.
Ruff is accused of killing his roommate Warren Welters, 51, in June 2015 in the house they shared on Bernard Avenue.
Medical records introduced during the trial support Welters was struck in the head four times with a hammer.
First responders found Welters in a pool of his own blood after Ruff called 911 to report he had discovered his dead roommate.
Related: Accused in Kelowna hammer death denied knowledge of death
During a party a few weeks prior to Welters’ death, Tomenchuk and Ruff had a conversation in Ruff’s kitchen after consuming cocaine and alcohol throughout the night, Tomenchuk testified.
Ruff told him the roommates had gotten into a physical fight the day before and Ruff had won.
Ruff was “boasting” about the fight, Tomenchuk said, and told him “he beat him up and if he ever fights him again he’ll probably kill him.”
Crown counsel Colin Forsyth asked Tomenchuk if he was looking at Ruff when he made that comment.
He was straight-faced, with no expression, said Tomenchuk.
“What was your reaction to that?” said Forsyth.
“Disbelief… because I just chalked it up two people having an argument,” said Tomenchuk. “People fight, people argue, it’s different when it’s two men, opposed to a man and a woman.”
Tomenchuk said Ruff and Welters had arguments and picked on each other, but Ruff only made the comment once to Tomenchuk.
Afterwards, Tomenchuk went to bed, saying the kitchen “didn’t have a very good vibe.”
No one else was present during the conversation.
Under cross examination by defense attorney Grant Gray, in 2001 Tomenchuk was charged with uttering threats, he said.
Tomenchuk had made the threats to police officers after an argument he had with his girlfriend, said Tomenchuk. He had not meant what he said when he threatened the officers, but wanted to be “taken away” from the situation, he said.
The trial, before a seven-women, five-man jury, continues.
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