Posted: Dec 18, 2020 12:00 PM MT | Last Updated: December 18, 2020
Justin Bennett, left, is on trial for second-degree murder in the Oct. 5, 2017, death of Ivy Wick, right, who was the daughter of his then-girlfriend Helen Wordsworth. Bennett says he s been diagnosed with COVID-19, which has delayed his trial. (Facebook, gofundme.com)
A murder trial has been derailed after staff at the Calgary Remand Centre triple-bunked inmates, mixing healthy and sick prisoners and causing the accused killer to contract COVID, according to the inmate.
Closing arguments were to take place Friday in Justin Bennett s second-degree murder trial, but to the surprise of lawyers and the judge, he was not brought to court due to the outbreak at the remand centre.
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Two men charged with murder in connection with a hit and run that killed a Calgary teen will go straight to trial.
Crown prosecutor Marlo MacGregor told provincial court Judge Gord Wong on Thursday that a direct indictment will be filed against Udham Sandhu and Mahipal Rajput, negating the need for a preliminary inquiry.
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But outside court, the lawyer for Sandhu said the decision to skip a preliminary hearing probably had something to do with the fact the Calgary Remand Centre didn’t transport his client to the Calgary Courts Centre.
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The sentencing hearing for convicted murderer Terrance Wardale was postponed Wednesday when he was brought to court showing signs of COVID-19.
An irate defence lawyer Adriano Iovinelli said his 64-year-old client, who was tested last week but not told the results, told him through a Plexiglas wall from a cell adjacent to the courtroom that he wasn’t feeling well.
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“He has bloodshot eyes, he’s flushed, he indicates a lack of taste and smell,” Iovinelli told Justice Blair Nixon.
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The sentencing hearing for convicted murderer Terrance Wardale was postponed Wednesday when he was brought to court showing signs of COVID-19.
An irate defence lawyer Adriano Iovinelli said his 64-year-old client, who was tested last week but not told the results, told him through a Plexiglas wall from a cell adjacent to the courtroom that he wasn’t feeling well.
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“He has bloodshot eyes, he’s flushed, he indicates a lack of taste and smell,” Iovinelli told Justice Blair Nixon.
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As COVID-19 case counts inside Calgary Remand Centre explode, relatives of inmates say they’re worried for the safety of their loved ones.
As of Saturday, the outbreak at the jail had infected 262 people, including 226 inmates, 35 staff members and one contractor. Of the inmates, 28 have been released to the community.
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Alberta Justice has not disclosed the number of inmates currently in the Calgary Remand Centre, saying it can change on a daily basis. The facility has a capacity of 684, meaning at least a third of inmates have tested positive.