The trial for four Halifax teenagers accused of second-degree murder looks to be on track to start September 23.
In court Monday, the prosecution discussed potentially applying to push the trial to November to have more time to review evidence.
However, in an interview with our newsroom, Crown lawyer Sarah Kirby believes they now think most of the evidence will be available ahead of the trial.
“There is also obviously a huge importance in a fair trial. And a fair trial does require a thorough investigation, and thorough investigations take time,” said Kirby.
The four teenagers, two 16-year-olds boys, and two 14-year-olds, a boy and a girl, face second-degree murder charges in relation to the death of Ahmad Al Marrach, who died after he was stabbed in the Halifax Shopping Centre parkade on April 22.
Crown lawyer Sarah Kirby stands outside the Halifax Provincial Court house on June 20, 2024. (Jacob Moore/Acadia Broadcasting)
The identities of the accused are protected by a publication ban.
She said the Youth Criminal Justice Act says that a timely conclusion for youth cases gives a “better sense of accountability,” which is part of the reason why the prosecution wants to go ahead with the trial.
Anna Mancini, lawyer for one of the accused, previously said she wants the trial to happen as soon as possible because her teenage client is in an adult jail.
But, Kirby said there’s a lot of evidence to get through, which is why the prosecution discussed adjourning the trial in case not all the evidence was available for the trial.
The Crown will “update the court” on the possibility of an adjournment application at another pre-trial hearing in July, after the lawyers have had more time to “review the voluminous” evidence provided by the ongoing police investigation, she said.
Kirby said there’s maybe 50 interviews of witnesses, various documents, videos, and other things “to be obtained, analyzed, copied” and given to the Crown, which the Crown then gives to the defence lawyers. All of those things take a lot of time to gather and then go through.
Crown lawyer Sharon Goodwin stands in the Halifax Provincial Court house on June 20, 2024. (Jacob Moore/Acadia Broadcasting)
Sarah Goodwin, one of the other Crown lawyers, echoed much of what Kirby said.
She added that it’s “actually phenomenal” to have so much evidence so soon after the date of the incident.
One of the accused, a 14-year-old girl, will appear in court Friday morning for a bail hearing.
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