A woman who was with Nicholas Khabra on the day of his killing in South Surrey in 2017 took the stand in the ongoing murder trial of Brandon Nathan Teixeira.

The murder trial for Teixeira is one-quarter of the way through, with the accused murderer appearing in B.C. Supreme Court Thursday (May 1) morning. The trial began Feb. 25 and is scheduled for 160 days.

The woman, whose identity is protected under a publication ban, is being referred to as Person A.

More than seven years ago, Nicholas Khabra was found by police with fatal gunshot wounds in a residence in the 14300-block of Crescent Road in South Surrey. The 28-year-old died of his wounds. Teixeira was arrested in Oroville, Calif. in December 2019 after several warnings, public appeals and manhunts in connection to the Oct. 23, 2017 killing of Khabra.

Teixeira was announced nearly a year after the killing as a key suspect, and ultimately charged with first-degree murder. He was additionally charged with attempted murder and discharging a firearm with intent to wound or disfigure, in connection with gunshot wounds suffered on the same morning by a young woman (Person A) who reportedly drove herself a short distance away from the scene and called 911. Police said at the time that they believed the woman, 24, was with Khabra when the shooting occurred.

Teixeira is pleading not guilty to three charges: first-degree murder of Nicholas Khabra, attempted murder of a female shot the same day, and discharging a firearm.

A couple days before the shooting on Oct. 20, Person A was at Khabra's home when the two were interrupted by a visitor, leading Khabra to leave Person A in the room and go into a separate one to speak to the visitor. As time passed, Person A informed Khabra that she had to leave because she had work early the next day so he came back, the two said goodbye, she grabbed her things and left.

As she was leaving, she peeked into the other room and saw Khabra and the other man hugging. In court Thursday, she described the man as having some light skin and stubble on his face. She testified he was about the same height as Khabra and wearing a baseball cap.

As she got outside to go to her car, she also noticed a dark-coloured Jeep in the driveway that she had not seen before.

Person A also took the jury through the details of Oct. 22, 2017 and into the next day, the last time the two saw each other.

She worked a double shift on that day so when she was off, just after 10 p.m., Person A went home briefly to shower and grab a book she was lending to Khabra before going to his home to pick him up. Khabra did not have a driver's licence, she shared.

"I noticed a weird van behind me parked on the opposite side of the road, just acting weird in his vehicle, so I just remember mentioning that to Nick as well," Person A said, detailing that night when she was outside Khabra's house to pick him up.

The two circled the van, determined it was nothing suspicious, then headed to White Rock as they smoked two joints together.

"We just kind of cruised through White Rock, just kind of passed through the beach," Person A recalled.

"The first stop, like I said, was somewhere near White Rock because we had at some point stepped outside the vehicle to smoke a joint, but I just can鈥檛 remember exactly where and another stop was when we got to that four-way Chevron near Crescent (Beach)."

At the Chevron, Person A stepped into the shop to grab a snack for herself and Khabra to share while he waited in her car until she returned and they continued driving.

"He told me he needed to meet up with a friend, so he told me to go to the cul-de-sac down the road."

She went on to detail how the two waited for Khabra's friend to arrive, when Person A asked Khabra if they could leave because she had work at 10 a.m. and it getting late. Khabra called the friend, who said he was nearby and would be there soon. Khabra told Person A he was meeting with the same person who was at his home on Oct. 20 and he said his name was Kobe.

Khabra said the two were meeting in relation to the victim's business of selling fireworks from time to time, Person A testified.

A "speeding" car, the same dark-coloured Jeep from just a couple days prior, came about five minutes later and parked behind Person A's car. Khabra went outside to greet the friend and the two stepped a couple houses down to have a conversation while she waited behind. The passenger window of her car was rolled down, but she could not hear their conversation, she testified.

Person A described the man as having light skin, stubble on his face, wearing a baseball cap and a grey-coloured sweater or jacket with a hood.

After about 15 minutes, Person A was becoming more tired so she grabbed a scarf from her car and put it over her head to shield her eyes from the street lights and rest.

"I was resting in my car and at some point I did take my scarf off and I was talking from my car and I was like 'I need to go home,'" Person A said, adding "but it was totally not acknowledged" so she put her scarf back on.

Person A did not see or hear anybody or anything else other than Khabra and the friend called Kobe, who Person A recognized from Oct. 20 when she was at Khabra's house.

"I could hear steps coming towards my car, coming towards me, and I do remember I could hear a handshake," she said.

"Once I heard that handshake, everything just happened so fast."

"All I could hear was gunshots and I could see that my window was busted, I could feel that I was in pain and I took my scarf off for a split second to push to start (the car) and I could just see someone pointing a gun and I could just hear loud gunshots and all I can remember was 'I need to start my car and I need to leave.'"

All of this happened within 20 seconds, she said, adding that right before she left, she saw a bullet fly right past her head and hit the headrest on her car seat. Khabra's hand was on the passenger side door right before the shots started firing, she recalled hearing.

"I could hear him screaming," she said of Khabra, who was right beside her car at that point, on the passenger side. He sounded like he was in a lot of pain and was screaming loudly, she added. 

The passenger windshield had a bullet hole in it and she looked over and saw the same man, Kobe, pointing a handgun down towards the ground.

"I could still hear multiple gunshots, I could feel a burning sensation (in my legs), I knew I was injured. I was in a lot of pain and all I could think of was to get to a safe location," Person A said, and that's what she did.

She described trying to check if she was being followed as she was driving but couldn't see anything but darkness. Eventually, Person A ended up on the highway and pulled over near Exit 10.

"I just remember my heart racing, I was really scared, I couldn't really process what was happening, I was shocked, I was worried for Nick cause he was there by himself," Person A said, while crying.

The court adjourned as Person A was too upset to continue. She is expected back in court on Friday and into next week during the trial, with Madam Justice Jennifer Duncan presiding and a jury scheduled for the 160 days that have been set aside for the trial.