Former Highlands councillor Kenneth Brotherston Sr. quietly walked up to the man he’s accused of killing, put his hands in the air and said in a calm voice, “We’re just going to talk business,” a key Crown witness testified yesterday in B.C. Supreme Court.

But the arrival of Brotherston and his sons, Ken Jr. and Gregory, now on trial for the second-degree murder of Keith Taylor on the afternoon of May 30, 2008, unleashed panic and chaos, Taylor’s ex-girlfriend Devon Daughtry told the court.

Daughtry’s testimony yesterday provided the first detailed account of what happened that day between the Brotherstons and Taylor at 3351 Betula Pl.

Taylor had been released from jail a few days earlier and was staying at the Colwood home, where he was dealing crack cocaine. The home’s owner, Dana Downey, testified last week that various people frequently partied, used drugs and crashed at the house.

The night before Taylor was killed, seven people stayed overnight; the next day even more people dropped by, including Ken Jr. An argument took place and Ken Jr. then left, Downey testified.

Ken Jr. returned later that afternoon with his father and brother.

When they arrived, Taylor ran back and forth in the backyard, pointing at Ken Jr. and yelling “Get the f--- out of here! You’re not welcome here!” Daughtry told the court, explaining she was standing in the back doorway.

Ken Jr. just stood there, not saying anything, she said.

“When Ken Sr. walks up to Keith and says he wants to talk business, Keith puts his guard down,” said Daughtry. “I just see Ken Sr. hit Keith. They fall backwards. Keith stumbles back and Ken Sr. falls on top of him.”

Starting to cry, Daughtry recalled how she started screaming for someone to help Taylor.

Ken Sr. gets back up. “Kenny was now standing to the left of his father. I did see Greg at that point. He was standing to the right of his father. They were both standing on either side of their father and kicking Keith.”

“What did you do next?” asked prosecutor Patrick Weir.

“I ran out of the house towards Ken Sr. to try and help Keith. Nobody was doing anything about it. I didn’t think. I just ran out. Ken Jr. put a gun to my head and told me to back off.”

“You ran out the back door to where Ken Sr. was standing and you were interrupted by Kenny with a gun?” asked Weir.

“That’s when I remember having a gun put to my face and being told to back off,” said Daughtry. “Kenny kicks me in the mouth, and I fall on my hands and knees and start crawling towards the house. Greg told me to back off and [said], ‘Did I want a piece of this, too?’ ”

As she crawled to the back door, Greg kicked her from behind, Daughtry testified: “I went full force into the door frame.”

Last week, she told the court Greg was once a close friend.

Daughtry testified she had never seen the gun before it was pressed to her forehead.

“Did you ever see Keith Taylor fighting back?” asked Weir.

“Not that I can recall,” Daughtry said.

Daughtry said she went back into the house. As she walked up the stairs to the third floor, Daughtry heard noises coming from the backyard.

“I hear Greg growling, screaming, groaning, grunting to ‘Tie him up. Tie his hands behind his back,’” Daughtry testified.

She ran out on the third-floor balcony and looked over the railing. Taylor’s friends Al Arsenault and Lisa Duncum were in the backyard, she said.

“I remember Al looking up at me. He had tears in his eyes. He mouthed there was nothing he could do,” said Daughtry, who continued to plead for help from anyone.

She ran downstairs and went into a bedroom overlooking the driveway, she said.

“I was looking out the window. I could see both Ken Sr., Kenny Jr. and Greg and Keith out in the driveway. They were proceeding to tie Keith’s arms and legs behind his back.”

“Did you see any movement from Keith?” asked Weir.

“No,” Daughtry said, again beginning to cry.

“His face was completely black and blue. He was covered in blood. His eyes were swollen shut. There was no movement at all.”

Taylor was being tied up with a white rope, said Daughtry.

She heard the truck start up. Then Harold Fairchild — known as Jimmy the Jackhammer — came into the room. Daughtry asked him whether he thought they would kill Taylor.

“If he isn’t dead already,” she recalled Fairchild saying.

Police arrived, alerted by 9-1-1 calls from neighbours. Daughtry was taken by ambulance to Victoria General Hospital.

Court previously heard that Ken Sr. drove to the West Shore RCMP office with Taylor’s body in the back of his pickup truck. Police and paramedics were unable to to revive him.

During cross-examination, Daughtry admitted she was a crack-cocaine addict. At the time Taylor was killed, she hadn’t slept for four days.

She admitted she was confused about the timing of events.

Both Brotherston sons are also charged with assault causing bodily harm to Daughtry. In addition, Ken Jr. is charged with assaulting Andrea Olson and Arsenault.

ldickson@tc.canwest.com