Murder trial begins for nephew and uncle charged in Woodbine Beach shooting

The trial has begun for a nephew and his uncle who are jointly charged with second-degree murder of a 21-year-old man who was fatally shot near Woodbine Beach two years ago.

In the opening address at the trial for Ricardo Willis and his uncle Kenneth Neil, assistant Crown attorneys Ovais Ahmad and Liz Jackson told the jury that Dacia Mbongo had been out for dinner with his girlfriend Lukiara Hunter-Wilmot at the Keg Mansion in downtown Toronto and had spontaneously gone to Woodbine Beach after dinner.

“As their walk was ending near Woodbine Beach, Lukiara Hunter-Wilmot had ordered an Uber rideshare to leave the area. Moments later, two masked men accosted Dacia Mbongo. Lukiara Hunter-Wilmot left the area in an Uber around that time when one of the two of the men fired 11 shots from a handgun at Dacia Mbongo as he tried to flee. He was struck in the back and died in a laneway just north of the beach,” said Ahmad.

The Crown alleges Willis and Neil are the two men who accosted Mbongo and murdered him in the laneway.

Ahmad told jurors that Mbongo and his girlfriend were not entirely alone that night. The Crown said that surveillance footage will show occupants of a white 2012 Honda Civic were interested in their movements that evening and that Neil is the registered owner of a white 2012 Honda Civic that was seen travelling towards Toronto the night of the murder.

Ahmad said the investigation into Mbongo’s murder revealed substantial phone calls between Hunter-Wilmot’s number and Willis’ number leading up to the night of the murder, but said “interestingly” there was no contact at all between their phone numbers for a month immediately following the murder.

The Crown said phone records also revealed a close relationship between Willis and Neil, suggesting they were in close proximity on the night of the murder.

Ahmad said police executed a search warrant at Neil’s residence and on his Honda Civic in early January 2025.

“When police searched the vehicle, they obtained a loaded handgun hidden below the front passenger seat. I expect you will hear that the bullets fired at Dacia Mbongo were fired from the gun found in Kenneth Neil’s car,” said Ahmad. The Crown said Neil’s DNA was also found on the handgun itself.

Hunter-Wilmot, who was 18 at the time, testified that she was in a long-distance relationship with Mbongo and made a plan to meet him for dinner that night.

She called it a casual dating relationship and said while she and Mbongo were together, they were talking to other people too.

Hunter-Wilmot said she first met Willis in high school and then started speaking to him regularly after meeting him at a barbecue in July 2024. She testified she and Willis would sit on the phone and talk for hours.

At the same time, she testified she was texting with Mbongo daily but he was between Montreal and New York.

Hunter-Wilmot said before going out with Mbongo, the two talked about whether they were going to match or not, and whether he was going to wear a black Cartier watch he had just got in New York.

She testified she knew that watch had value and was from a luxury brand and said Mbongo had sent her pictures and videos of the watch.

Jackson asked Hunter-Wilmot if she shared images of the watch with anyone. She denied that she had. When the Crown asked why she asked Mbongo if he was going to be wearing the watch that night, she said it was because he kept talking about the watch “over and over.”

Jackson asked if she had communicated with Willis that night and said while she had location sharing on some of her cell phone platforms, she wasn’t sure if it was enabled.

Hunter-Wilmot said after dinner, when she and Mbongo went for a walk at Woodbine Beach, they got into an argument after seeing a notification from an ex-boyfriend on her phone.

She said he got mad but didn’t know who the person was.

“We started arguing. He told me to call an Uber home,” said Hunter-Wilmot.

The girlfriend said as they were on the eastbound lanes of Lake Shore Boulevard East arguing, three people ran towards them. She testified she didn’t know who they were, only describing them as wearing all black and ski masks.

“They ran directly at us,” Hunter-Wilmot said, explaining she was in fight-or-flight mode as she ran into the Uber.

Jackson asked what happened to Mbongo.

“I seen getting tussled with and I ran. He was getting pulled by his clothes,” she said.

Hunter-Wilmot denied seeing a weapon, saying it was dark.

The girlfriend said she was in shock and frantic and didn’t call police. She said on the way to her mother’s house in Scarborough, she added a stop to her Uber and picked up a friend.

She also denied hearing the gunshots and said she didn’t hear that Mbongo had been killed until the next morning.

“And did you call the police then?” said Jackson. Hunter-Wilmot said she did not.

She also said the next time she spoke to Willis was not until October.

“I went into self-isolation. I was traumatized. My boyfriend just died,” said Hunter-Wilmot.

She testified the next time she saw Willis was in October when they went to Canada’s Wonderland for Halloween Haunt.

“We went with Kenneth and his girlfriend,” said Hunter-Wilmot, who added she had seen him around before and was older. Neil was 26 at the time. Hunter-Wilmot said that night, she learned he was Willis’ uncle.

Hunter-Wilmot said after the night out at Canada’s Wonderland, she and Willis started officially dating, calling it a romantic relationship. She said the two dated until shortly after Christmas 2024.

“The relationship wasn’t working. We weren’t meant to be,” she said.

Jackson asked Hunter-Wilmot about being arrested in January 2025.

Hunter-Wilmot said she was in Willis’ bedroom and testified she hasn’t seen him since.

“I understand you had a baby in September 2025. Who’s the father?” asked Jackson.

“Ricardo Willis,” replied Hunter-Wilmot.

“Since having that baby, have you been in contact?” Jackson asked.

“No, we have a no-contact order. We can’t see each other. This is the first time literally,” Hunter-Wilmot answered.

“But from what I understand, your relationship ended in December?” Jackson asked.

Willis and Neil have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. The trial continues