A man and a woman accused of killing a toddler in 2017 will undergo separate trials.
Joey Crier and his then-girlfriend, Tasha-Lee Mack, were charged with second-degree murder after Crier’s 19-month-old son, Anthony Raine, was found dead outside a north Edmonton church in April 2017.
Their trial was set to begin Wednesday but Crier did not appear at the courthouse for jury selection Monday.
A warrant was issued for his arrest and Crier was taken into custody in Maskwacis Monday night.
In court Wednesday, his lawyer asked to withdraw as Crier’s counsel after what she called “a breakdown in the client-lawyer relationship,” and the judge agreed.
Crier said he didn’t mean to skip court Monday, but that his ride from Maskwacis to Edmonton “bailed” on him.
Because Crier failed to appear at the court proceeding, he lost the right to a jury trial and will now be tried by a judge.
Mack’s lawyer, Ajay Juneja, told the court he and his client did not want the trial to be delayed.
At their request, the judge agreed to separate the two trials.
Crier will now have time to find a new lawyer for his yet-to-be scheduled trial.
CTV News Edmonton's Nicole Weisberg is at court:
