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Just hours before he was killed with a hammer, Steffen Pohl called police to report that his roommate had taken “bad mushrooms” and was trying to “murder him.”
Around 7 a.m., Nader Afzal Butter called his landlord, and then police, to say there was a dead body inside 1215 Idylwyld Drive North. When officers got there, Butter was barefoot and covered in blood.
“He appeared to be calm and stoic,” according to an agreed statement of facts entered Tuesday in Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench.
Butter, 46, was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of 35-year-old Steffen Pohl on Jan. 30, 2023. He was committed to stand trial after a preliminary hearing later that year.
The trial was scheduled for April 28. On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to the lesser included offence of manslaughter.
“Mr. Butter was impaired from the combined effects of alcohol and psilocin (magic mushrooms),” the agreed facts state.
“Therefore, he did not have the necessary intent to commit murder.”
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Pohl’s body was found in the front common area of the house. A yellow claw hammer was at his feet.
A forensic pathologist determined he had multiple injuries, including a skull, jaw and neck fracture, and died from blunt force head trauma.
The facts state the two roommates started drinking hard alcohol while Pohl made supper around 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 29, 2023. At some point, they both consumed mushrooms.
“The demeanour of Mr. Pohl and Mr. Butter changed after this, and things started to become violent,” the facts state.
“Mr. Butter was threatening towards Mr. Pohl.”
By the time Pohl called police at 10:40 p.m., the men had fought twice, leaving Pohl with a gash over one of his eyes.
The facts state an officer went to the Mayfair neighbourhood home just after midnight. He spoke to “three males who were outside the residence and left approximately seven minutes later.”
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A third roommate, who slept on the main floor, had been drinking with the men and went to bed shortly after. Court heard Butter continued to call his landlord throughout the night, saying “Things were getting out of hand.”
Lab results determined Pohl’s blood was found on Butter’s hands, the hammer and a doorknob. A toxicology report concluded that there was psilocin in Pohl’s urine and his blood-alcohol level was between .227 (femoral blood) and .318 (urine).
“The impairing effects of combined drugs are expected to be greater relative to either drug alone,” the toxicologist wrote in her report.
Sentencing was adjourned to June 24. The court confirmed a hearing is scheduled for May 8 to hear evidence from two witnesses, including Butter.
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