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Three-month murder trial off to slow start

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A murder trial for three men accused of fatally gunning down a local woman in a vehicle, and shooting another man, on a South Windsor street three years ago is off to a slow start.

The trial, scheduled for three months before Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia, was expected to start on Tuesday after a jury was selected on Monday.

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But the jury selection process had to be re-booted that day after one of the 14 jurors begged off from the lengthy commitment due to health issues. A 14th juror was picked Tuesday.

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Rather than a new trial start on Wednesday, however, jurors had to again wait as the two Crown attorneys and five defence lawyers in the case met behind closed doors with a judge.

By midday, the jury was released and instructed not to return until Friday.

Kyle Hanna, 29, Keermaro Rolle, 26, and Tomeko Vilneus, 28, are each charged with first-degree murder for the April 1, 2020, killing of Madisen Gingras, 20.

The three men are also charged with the attempted murder that day of Jacob Reaume, who would have been about 28 years old at the time.

Reaume is expected to be one of the prosecution’s main witnesses. During jury selection, the Crown listed about 100 potential witnesses who could be called to testify for the prosecution during courtroom proceedings that could stretch into mid-May.

The judge and lawyers continued to meet behind closed doors on Wednesday before adjourning until Thursday morning, when those discussions are expected to continue, albeit still in private.

Defence and Crown lawyers declined comment and remained tight-lipped when asked by the Windsor Star to explain the delays in the trial’s start or what the in-camera discussions have been about.

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Meanwhile, family members and police officers expected to be the first prosecution witnesses to testify waited outside the locked courtroom.

According to a Windsor Star story at the time, Windsor Police Service patrol officers responded around 11 p.m. on April 1, 2020, to a report of multiple shots fired in the 2200 block of Northway Avenue.

They arrived to find a vehicle with apparent gunshot damage. An adult male was in the immediate area, outside the vehicle, suffering from a gunshot wound. Inside the vehicle, police found an adult female — dead by apparent gunshot.

The man was taken to hospital for treatment of an injury not considered life-threatening. Northway Avenue is one of several residential streets just east of Huron Church Road and north of the E. C. Row Expressway.

In an obituary after her slaying, Gingras was described as having “a smile that could light up any room. She also had the world’s biggest heart, and was kind and caring towards anyone no matter their place in this world.”

Survived by her parents and older sister, “Madi” was also remembered for her love of animals.

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The jurors selected this week — 10 women and four men — were instructed by the judge not to discuss the case with others, or read, listen to or watch any news stories, social media or internet postings about the charges and the trial.

While a three-month courthouse commitment might be inconvenient and disruptive to their lives, Justice Carroccia told prospective jurors, selected randomly from the community, that jury duty is essential to the Canadian justice system and “part of the price of being a citizen of this country.”

The judge said she had made an order that each juror in this murder trial would be compensated at $120 per business day, “whether we are sitting or not.”

Given that the accused are Black men and the deceased a white woman, the judge asked pointed questions about preconceived notions, biases and “harmful and erroneous stereotypes” that prospective jurors might harbour, but that “have no place in a courtroom.”

dschmidt@postmedia.com

twitter.com/schmidtcity

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