Two Ottawa men to stand trail for 3rd time in 1998 murder
Posted Nov 4, 2011 12:37:12 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA, On. — Two gang members convicted of second-degree murder in the 1998 shooting death of a college student will likely get a new trial after Canada’s top court dismissed an appeal Friday.
The top court is upholding an Ontario Appeals Court order for a new trial because of a technicality.
In two previous trials where the Ottawa men were found guilty of second-degree murder there was never an option for the jury to convict them of attempted murder instead.
The lawyers for Robert Sarrazin, 40, and Darlind Jean, 39, say there is reasonable doubt the two men actually killed Apaid Noel, 21, twelve years ago.
They admit they shot him with a sawed off shotgun outside a night club but Noel survived, only to die from a blood clot five days after being released from the hospital.
Because he died nearly a month after being shot and because trace amounts of cocaine were found in noel’s autopsy, the lawyers for the accused argue that a charge of attempted murder should have been on the table.
Both the top courts for Ontario and for Canada agree, saying the option of attempted murder could have changed the trials’ outcomes. The Crown’s appeal was dismissed in a 3-6 ruling and a new trial is likely.
