After Sandham's testimony on the stand, widely viewed as a "train-wreck" that did himself much damage, Aravena took the stand on 22 September 2009. As Bryant had a reputation for being aggressive, it was junior defense counsel Kathryn Wells who questioned him on the stand. Aravena began with describing how in Chile, his father had abandoned his mother when he was a toddler, and how he came to Canada as a child looking for a better life. Aravena testified his IQ was very low as he failed grades 7, 8, and 9 before dropping out of school in grade 10, saying he just could not handle learning, and that his principal accomplishment in life was losing MMA fights. In the summer of 2005, Aravena's cousin, roommate and best friend was murdered in a bar fight, and afterwards, suffering from cocaine addiction, he moved in with his employer Mushey, paying $100 in rent in exchange for being allowed to live in his basement. Aravena testified that on the night of the massacre, he wanted desperately to stop the killings, but was afraid that Kellestine, Sandham, M.H, and Mushey would kill him if he tried. Aravena stated he wanted to call the police but: "I knew there was no way out no. After what I just witnessed, I was glad I was friends with these guys…Because we got of there alive, I was really happy not to be dead". ".