Manslaughter trial for one of seven teens accused of deadly 2022 attack delayed
The trial for a teen accused of manslaughter after a group attack on a 16-year-old boy has been adjourned – with no timeline set to resume.
The teen, SM, is one of seven who were charged after the 2022 attack in a field near a school.
None of the youth involved or school can be identified due to the Youth Criminal Justice Act and a publication ban.
Over the past two weeks, the court has heard from several witnesses, including Edmonton police officers, the medical examiner and eyewitnesses.
When the crown closed its case on Wednesday, defence lawyer Brian Beresh informed the court he intended to file an application for "particulars".
In the application, Beresh alleged the crown may have changed its position and was prosecuting his client as a principal offender to the deadly attack instead of a party to.
He wanted clarification on the crown’s position before deciding to call any evidence of their own.
The application was argued Friday morning.
During her ruling, Justice Gillian Marriott said, "There is no change as I can see it in the crown’s position with respect to the accused and these charges."
"Is not appropriate or essential," she said before denying the application.
Justice Marriott then told Beresh he should be ready to present evidence or begin closing arguments an hour later.
There was a somewhat heated exchange when Beresh said he would not be ready and asked for an adjournment.
“I think I’m entitled to think about your decision,” he said.
Justice Mariott asked why, and told the defence lawyer – as senior counsel – should have been prepared to continue no matter what the outcome of his application.
Crown prosecutor Jeff Rudiak was also not in a position to continue when he found out the defence would call evidence, telling the justice it "kind of caught me off guard."
The justice used the term "astounding" a couple of times about the request for more time before granting the adjournment.
While not uncommon for trials to go longer than scheduled, she and the victim’s family expected the trial would wrap up this week.
Justice Marriott made it clear on several occasions she only had two weeks to hear the case.
A cousin of the victim, SS, said she flew to Edmonton early Friday morning to be in court for the end of the trial.
"And it didn’t conclude," SS said. "We’re disheartened, we are now back in that lingering phase of what if and what now," she added.
Another cousin who has been in the courtroom for much of the trial is frustrated with the process.
"It feels like we’re back to square one," MB said.
"It feels like the defence is just playing table tennis with the justice system. It’s like they’re not ready to present their case and so now it’s our feelings that linger and are dragged through the mud over and over and over again," she said.
A date for SM’s trial to resume is expected to be set next week.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
OPP's mandatory alcohol screening during traffic stops 'not acceptable': CCLA
A spike in impaired driving-related collisions has caused Ontario’s provincial police to begin enforcing mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) at all traffic stops in the Greater Toronto Area -- a move one civil rights group says is ‘not acceptable.’
Maple Leafs down Bruins 2-1 to force Game 7
William Nylander scored twice and Joseph Woll made 22 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday to force Game 7 in their first-round series.
Jurors in Trump hush money trial hear recording of pivotal call on plan to buy affair story
Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president.
Southern Alberta store broken into by burly black bear
Staff at a small southern Alberta office supply store were shocked to find someone had broken into the business last week, but they were even more confused when they discovered the culprit was a bear.
Captain sentenced to 4 years for criminal negligence in fiery deaths of 34 aboard scuba boat
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in custody and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel.
New scam targets Canada Carbon Rebate recipients
Fake text message and email campaigns trying to get money and information out of unsuspecting Canadian taxpayers have started circulating, just months after the federal government rebranded the carbon tax rebate the Canada Carbon Rebate.