The mistrial was announced after some documents were included in a box of exhibits that shouldn’t have been there and sent to the jury room on Friday
The three-week murder trial of an Elliott Lake man ended abruptly Saturday when the judge declared a mistrial.
Superior Court Judge Annalisa Rasaya discharged jurors at 11:45 a.m., telling them she had ordered a mistrial “as a result of certain events that occurred.”
Jurors were beginning their second day of deliberations in the first-degree murder case against Brad Southwind.
Shortly before 10:30 a.m., in the absence of jurors, the Crown and defense were called into the courtroom.
Rasaiah said she learned this morning that some documents had inadvertently ended up in an exhibit box that was sent to the jury room on Friday.
The documents include a medical report from a doctor at a mental health center, which was not entered into evidence in the trial.
When a court services officer went to pick them up, she found the package had been opened and the documents had been reviewed by jurors.
Prosecutor Karen Pritchard indicated that the Crown’s position was that there was a risk of real prejudice because of this error.
“There should be a mistrial,” the assistant Crown attorney said.
Defense attorney Don Oracietti agreed.
Rasaiah said the fairness of the trial was compromised.
“To prevent a miscarriage of justice, I am declaring a mistrial,” she told the lawyers.
The jury was then brought into the courtroom.
After informing them of his decision, the judge thanked the jurors for their service.
She also reminded them that everything said and discussed, along with all votes in the jury room, “must be kept confidential.”
No one “has a right to know what was said,” Rasaya said, adding that disclosing such information is a crime under the Criminal Code of Canada.
The attorneys will appear before a judge on duty in August to schedule a new trial date.
Southwind, 27, is accused of murdering his best friend four years ago.
Joseph Topping’s body was found in a wooded swamp on February 14, 2018, a month after his mother reported her 31-year-old son missing.
It was found in an alley behind a building on Mississauga Avenue where the two men had apartments.
Topping was stabbed 17 times in the neck, chest, back, head and face.
During the 12-day trial, the court heard testimony from several Ontario Provincial Police officers involved in the investigation, as well as a forensic pathologist, a DNA expert and two members of Southwind’s family.
The defendant also took the stand in his own defense and, under cross-examination by prosecutor David Didiodato, admitted to killing Topping.
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