Sitansisk elder murder may not go to trial
Defence for 17-year-old boy charged in fatal stabbing in talks with Crown to resolve matter
A murder charge against a teenage suspect was just adjourned Wednesday, but the court heard the prosecution and defence are in talks to wrap the case up without the need for a trial.
A 17-year-old boy - who can’t be named, as per the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act - faces a charge of second-degree murder in the June 21 stabbing death of Sitansisk (St. Mary’s) First Nation elder Mark “Barnzie” Albert Brooks II, 71, in Fredericton.
The suspect was denied bail late last month, and the case was back in Fredericton youth court, scheduled for election of mode of trial and plea.
The young defendant appeared by telephone from the Miramichi Youth Campus, the province’s sole youth correctional facility, where he’s being held on remand.