By Canadian Press

Nova Scotia mass shooting: lawyer says spouse of shooter could face unfair trial

Mar 1, 2021 | 10:16 AM

PORT HAWKESBURY, N.S. — A lawyer representing the spouse of the man who murdered 22 people in Nova Scotia told a court hearing today that Lisa Banfield’s right to a fair trial could be jeopardized if a redacted document is unsealed.

Banfield is among three people charged with unlawfully transferring ammunition to the gunman in the month before his rampage — but police have said she and the others had no prior knowledge of the gunman’s actions.

The document in question is a police application to obtain a search warrant for their investigation into the killings on April 18-19, 2020.

Banfield’s lawyer, Jessica Zita, told provincial court Judge Laurie Halfpenny MacQuarrie that a redacted portion of the document includes key details about the Crown’s case against her client, the release of which would undermine her right to a fair trial.

However, media lawyer David Coles argued that the release of that information would do no such thing, because Banfield’s case will be heard by a judge alone and not a jury.

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Halfpenny MacQuarrie said she would release her decision on April 23.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 1, 2021.

The Canadian Press