
Potential jurors in Peter Khill murder trial answer questions about bias and knowledge of the case
CBC
Lawyers screened potential jurors on Friday for possible racial biases and what, if anything, they already knew about the high-profile Hamilton murder trial of Peter Khill.
Khill, 32, is facing a second-degree murder charge after shooting Jon Styres, a 29-year-old from Six Nations of the Grand River back in 2016. Styres was trying to steal Khill's truck.
This will be Khill's third trial after being acquitted in 2018 and having the Supreme Court order another trial last year, only to have that end in a mistrial earlier this week.
The case had a particular notoriety back in 2016 because of its similarities to the death of Colton Boushie.
Jury selection took place for the new trial Friday, with Ontario Superior Court Justice Andrew Goodman, Crown prosecutor Sean Doherty and defence lawyer Jeffrey Manishen addressing 115 prospective jurors, looking to find 14 jurors and two alternates.
That's two more than the 12-person jury selected earlier this week before the mistrial.
Goodman, Doherty and Manishen found what they were looking for, selecting 11 women and three men as jurors. One juror appears to be a person of colour.
Prospective jurors heard Khill shot and killed Styres during the early morning hours of Feb. 4, 2016 in front of Khill's home on Highway 56 southeast of Hamilton.
"How do you plead?" the court registrar asked Khill.
"Not guilty," said Khill, who was wearing a dark grey suit with a light grey tie.
"Are you ready for your trial?" asked the registrar.
"Yes," Khill said.
Jurors entered the courtroom separately to be questioned by Manishen or Doherty and speak with Goodman.
It was an all-day affair which every single juror having to enter the courtroom.