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Video of fatal Burnaby Starbucks sucker punch shown at manslaughter trial

'I think I can handle it, but I can’t,' says mother of Michael Page-Vincelli

The last images of 22-year-old Michael Page-Vincelli alive are of him standing in a Burnaby Starbucks eating a bag of chips before a man strides quickly towards him and punches him in the head, apparently without warning.

Page-Vincelli’s mother, Steffany Page, has seen the security footage maybe a dozen times.

“I think I can handle it, but I can’t,” she told the NOW. “It’s like a painful death all over again. It’s like watching my son die. He didn’t deserve that.”

Lawrence Sharpe, Oldouz Pournouruz, Michael Page-Vincelli
Lawrence Sharpe and Oldouz Pournouruz, accused of manslaughter in the death of Michael Page-Vincelli after an alleged assault at a Burnaby Starbucks, make their way to B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver Tuesday.

The video was shown again in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver Wednesday at the trial of Lawrence Sharpe and Oldouz Pournouruz, a couple accused of manslaughter in Page-Vincelli’s death in July 2017

The video was taken from inside the Kensington Square Starbucks on Hastings Street.

It shows Page-Vincelli enter the Starbucks in a red t-shirt, blue jeans and bright orange runners.

A few moments later, a tall man and a woman enter.

While the woman lingers by the door, the man goes to deliver the blow, knocking Page-Vincelli out of the frame of the camera.

The couple exits quickly, and shocked bystanders can be seen looking down at Page-Vincelli, whose feet are just visible in the frame.

Watching the final fatal seconds of the video in court, his mother covered her eyes with clenched fists and wept.

The punch caused Page-Vincelli to fall and hit his head on the ground and possibly a counter, fracturing his skull and rendering him brain dead, according to Crown prosecutor Colleen Smith.

He never regained consciousness.

Smith has told the jury she will present evidence to show the man who delivered the punch was Sharpe, spurred on by Pournouruz, who had had an argument with Page-Vincelli outside of the Royal Bank nearby while Sharpe was inside.

Witnesses have said they saw a man and woman yelling, swearing and throwing a cigarette back and forth at each other.

The man had called the woman a “dirty immigrant” and other vulgar names, according to witnesses.

Hearing that testimony brought tears to his mother’s eyes.

“I’m not happy about it,” she said. “It shouldn’t have happened … I’m not proud of what he said with her, but I am proud of him for walking away.”

Painful as it was to watch, Page said she is glad the video exists, both to shed light on what happened and as a warning to others.

“When does it stop?” she asked. “How many other kids need to be hit that are somebody’s kids? Violence is not a way to solve a problem.”

Page’s best friend, Denise Pereira, who was with her in court, agreed.

“The thing people tend to forget is when you make the decision to lay your hands on someone, anything can happen, anything.”

The 19-day trial continues this week.