Retrial for accused killer Steven Neville draws 400 potential jurors
A retrial for Steven Neville, who is accused of second-degree murder and attempted murder, saw more than 400 people report for jury duty Monday morning in St. John's.
The prospective jurors filled three courtrooms, and listened to instructions from Justice Robert Stack, both in person in courtroom number one and via video screen in the other rooms.
Neville was convicted in 2013 in the death of Doug Flynn, who had been fatally stabbed in the head, and the attempted murder of Ryan Dwyer in Paradise.
The defence, which had claimed Neville had acted in self defence, had cast Dwyer and Flynn as predators who had hunted Neville.
There was evidence that Flynn and Dwyer had been hounding Neville for weeks leading up to the clash on Oct. 9, 2010, and that he tried to avoid them. But that night, Neville was in a car, spotted them, and jumped out.
At the time, Crown prosecutor Robin Fowler said that was probably a key element in the guilty verdict. During summations, he told the jury that if Neville had stayed in the vehicle, then nothing would have happened.
The Crown described Neville as being angry over remarks Dwyer had made about his mother on Facebook.
But the Supreme Court of Canada overturned Neville's convictions, stating there were problems with the judge's instruction to the jury.
A new trial was ordered, but its start has seen several delays — and the reasons behind a year-long postponement remain secret due to a publication ban imposed, after it was requested by the defence.
It's expected to take three days to secure a jury, and the trial itself will likely last ten weeks.
With files from Glenn Payette
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