Iqaluit murder trial delayed
New trial date for Daniel Hodgson to be set on Dec. 12
A new trial date for Daniel Hodgson, who is accused of killing Brad Winsor in 2017, will be set in December. (File photo)
The second-degree murder trial of Daniel Hodgson, accused of killing 23-year-old Brad Winsor in 2017, has been delayed.
Hodgson, 39, was to face a judge and jury in Iqaluit for a two-week trial starting on Nov. 12.
But on Nov. 4, Chief Justice Neil Sharkey adjourned the trial until December, at which point the court will set a new date for a jury trial, according to files at the Nunavut Court of Justice.
Police, who arrested Hodgson on May 19, 2017, at the Iqaluit airport, allege Hodgson killed Winsor in the early morning that same day.
About two months later, the court released Hodgson from custody under a $250,000 bail agreement. Three other individuals posted bail for Hodgson, including local businessman Steven Birrell, who agreed to pay $100,000 if Hodgson broke his bail conditions.
Those conditions say Hodgson must surrender his passport, remain in Iqaluit, abide by a curfew and not approach within 500 metres of the Iqaluit airport.
The courts were to schedule a trial date in August 2018, but it wasn’t until February 2019 that a trial date of Nov. 12 was set.
The trial is expected to last two weeks and receive testimony from about a dozen people.
The court ordered a number of witnesses to testify by way of subpoena, which makes their testimony mandatory.
One individual to testify is alleged to have helped Hodgson prepare to leave Iqaluit after Winsor’s death, according to a subpoena.
Another individual set to testify is alleged to have driven the accused to the airport, according to another subpoena.
None of these allegations have been tried or proven in court.
A lawyer for Hodgson, Sara Siebert, did not reply to Nunatsiaq News’ request for an explanation for the Nov. 4 adjournment.
“It was the request of defence counsel to adjourn the trial,” one of two prosecutors assigned to this trial, Brandt Chu, told Nunatsiaq News in an email. Prosecutors did not provide more detail when asked.
The court scheduled Hodgson’s matter to be addressed again on Dec. 12, in order to set another date for a jury trial.
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