Barrie man found not guilty in 1994 death of Katherine Janeiro

Warning: Readers may find some details in this article disturbing or upsetting.

The jury reached a verdict on Wednesday in the 1994 Katherine Janeiro murder case, finding her former boyfriend, Bruce Ellis, not guilty.

The jury deliberated for two days over the evidence presented, including images of a bloody bathroom and bedroom where the 20-year-old woman's body was found face down on the floor of her Dunlop Street apartment 30 years ago.

The court heard Janeiro, who was mother to a toddler at the time of her death, had been in an extra-marital relationship with Ellis that ended badly.

The Crown painted a scenario where Ellis had become irate after Janeiro confronted his then-wife, telling her she was pregnant with his child. The prosecution further said Ellis was enraged with Janeiro for spreading rumours he had contracted AIDS and suggested he took her life in a "crime of passion."

Janeiro was found with multiple stab wounds.

Police testified to arriving at the apartment to find "a lot of blood," but the defence argued, there was no DNA proof pointing to Ellis.

The defence tried to turn the court's attention to another man, Woody Theakston, as the person responsible for Janeiro's death.

It was revealed in court that Janeiro had been selling drugs out of her apartment for Theakston and that several people were coming and going from her place the day she died.

However, the Crown said the now-deceased biker and drug dealer had an "iron-clad alibi," adding there was no reason for Theakston to kill Janeiro.

Still, the defence kept the spotlight on Theakston. A witness testified entering Janeiro's apartment to find Theakston, along with another man, Paul Daigle, rummaging through the kitchen before she discovered the young mother's lifeless body in the other room.

The defence argued that Theakston and Daigle's actions were consistent with a guilty mind and that the two men had tampered with the crime scene.

While on the stand, Daigle denied any involvement in Janeiro's death, telling the court that she was already dead when they arrived and that they were searching for cough syrup in her kitchen for a sick friend.

The defence continued to poke holes in the Crown's case, noting its questionable timeline of events, arguing it would have been impossible for Ellis to have committed the murder, ransacked the unit, cleaned himself up, gone home and slid back into bed with his wife before she woke up and found him sleeping.

The defence further argued there was no evidence suggesting Ellis and Janeiro had any contact that night and told the jury there was no tangible proof linking him to the murder. "The evidence just does not add up."

In a prepared statement, Janeiro's now-adult daughter, Dawn, noted the past 30 years had been "tough for my family."

"I was two at the time of her murder, and it has been a lifetime that has been stolen from me and a lifetime that I will never be able to share with her. Three years ago, the Barrie police made an arrest that resulted in a process that has played out here at the courthouse for the past few weeks. To all the investigators and the Crown Attorney's Office, I am grateful for your hard work, but I am disappointed and distraught by the verdict," she stated.

Police arrested Ellis, now 61, in 2021 after they said they received a tip from the public.

Following the verdict, Ellis and his lawyer left the Barrie courthouse relieved.

"We are so truly grateful, and Mr. Ellis is looking forward to getting on with his life and putting this chapter behind him," said defence lawyer Mary Cremer. "The right result was achieved in this case."

Ellis told CTV News he wasn't prepared to address the Janeiro family, only saying, "Hopefully, she [Dawn] gets some closure sometime, but it's not going to come today."

Cremer interjected, offering, "We're thinking of the family right now. What they have been through has been gutwrenching as well. I think it's a tragedy that, unfortunately, Woody Theakston got away with this, but hopefully, the family now has some answers," adding, "Mr. Ellis was never, ever guilty of her murder, ever."

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