Teen opts for jury trial in northside stabbing
17-year-old boy murder suspect remanded again pending preliminary inquiry set in spring
A minor charged with second-degree murder in the wake of a Sitansisk elder’s stabbing death this summer has opted to be tried in superior court by a judge and jury.
The 17-year-old boy - whose identity is protected by the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act - appeared in Fredericton youth court by video Wednesday afternoon from the Miramichi Youth Campus, the province’s youth jail.
He was charged with second-degree murder this summer in the June 21 stabbing death of Mark “Barnzie” Albert Brooks II, 71, of Sitansisk (St. Mary’s) First Nation in Fredericton.
Defence lawyer Alex Pate told the court Wednesday his client was electing to be tried in the Court of King’s bench by a judge and jury, and was seeking a preliminary inquiry.