Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador Justice Trina Simms had choice words for the province’s justice department on Monday morning, after the start of a murder trial was delayed nearly two hours due to staffing problems.
The exact reason for the delay was unclear, but the court was told two of the accused — Jason Wells and Bradley Morrell — were unable to be transferred from Her Majesty’s Penitentiary to the Supreme Court building first thing in the morning.
All seven lawyers on the case were ready to proceed. Four witnesses were waiting in the hallway. The third accused person, Veronica Whalen, who is not in custody, was also present.
Another N.L. murder trial delayed due to staffing issues
“I’m putting it on the record that the trickle down here is palpable,” Simms said of the impact the delays had on everybody’s schedule. “The justice department needs to do better with this.”
Simms is the second Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court justice to go on the record with concerns about the effects of staffing shortages in the justice system.
Justice Vikas Khaladkar issued a stern message to the justice minister when the first day of the province’s last murder trial — for convicted killer Dean Penney — went off the rails due to staffing shortages. Penney was also unable to be transported to the courthouse in that case.
“We have a deplorable state of affairs,” Khaladkar told the courtroom.
The province has been dealing with critical shortages in the justice system, with the government putting a push on to hire more police, prosecutors, sheriffs, correctional officers and court clerks.
Simms said she will keep track of all the delays in the most recent case, and make it a matter of public record as the 20-day trial continues.
Morrell and Wells eventually made their way into the courtroom, just before noon.
Crown prosecutor Colin Sheppard launched into his opening statements, alleging the trio beat and stabbed 31-year-old Dylan Jordan outside a home on Golf Avenue in the centre of St. John’s on July 31, 2024.
Jordan went to the home with another man that morning, and was heard screaming at the occupants of the home from the street outside.
Sheppard said one witness will testify Jordan kicked the door to the house, before saying “f–king kill you.” Two minutes later, Sheppard said Morrell and Wells exited the house and a brawl ensued.
During the melee, Morrell is accused of stabbing Jordan once. Both men got to their feet, Sheppard said, and Wells delivered a second stab wound.
Whalen had also entered the fray by this point, Sheppard said, and began stomping on Jordan after he fell to the ground. Sheppard said witnesses will testify Whalen continued to kick him in the head as he lay bleeding to death on the pavement.
Twenty-five witnesses will testify, including a handful of medical professionals who saw the killing from the upper floors of nearby St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital.
Sheppard said at least one of them, a doctor, sprinted from the seventh floor out into the street and attempted to administer first aid.
Jordan’s family sat crying in the courtroom as photographs of their loved one’s body were entered as exhibits. The pictures, taken by a bystander, showed the 31-year-old lying on his back with a handgun and a collapsible baton on the sidewalk nearby. Sheppard said the court will hear it was a BB gun.
Wells looked away as the pictures came on a screen in the courtroom.
The first officer to respond to the call testified on Monday afternoon, calling it a “chaotic” scene when he first arrived.
Const. Liam Myers said he took note of the gun immediately, which had been wrapped in a latex glove and moved out of the way by a physician who arrived on scene before the police.
Myers said a witness had told them about the trio of suspects who went back inside the home on Golf Avenue. He made the decision to call for backup from officers armed with carbine rifles.
A brief standoff ensued before the three suspects came out of the house and were arrested. Myers said Morrell appeared bloodied and injured when he came outside.
Myers combed through the house to search for anyone else who might have been injured, and noted a pair of guns in the dryer and a machete in the hallway.
Testimony continues on Tuesday, with several more Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers set to take the witness box.
Morrell is represented by Mark Gruchy. Wells is represented by Iain Hollett and Stephen Orr. Whalen is represented by Andrea Vizsolyi and Taylor Starrett.
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