Old wounds have reopened for the family of a Bradford man who police say was beaten to death in 2015.
Nearly a year after a judge declared a mistrial in the case against three men and one woman, accused of beating and fatally injuring James McCallen, jury selection began once again in Barrie on Tuesday.
Twenty-three-year-old Julian Zenczuk, 25-year-old Ebenezer Ampadu, 22-year-old James Paniccia and 24-year-old Jillian Clare are charged with manslaughter and assault, and all appeared in court for Tuesday's proceedings.
The first trial was declared tainted and dismissed after one of the jurors admitted to the judge that he had undertaken his own detective work by visiting the location where the alleged crime took place. The juror also admitted to looking up the accused and several other members involved in the trial on the internet. He said he meant no harm and was trying to get a better understanding of the case.
“In this day and age with social media, I guess it’s somewhat to be expected, but it’s disappointing that one person side-railed six weeks of trial for the accused, for the other jurors, for everybody frankly,” said Leo Kinahan, the lawyer for Jillian Clare.
James McCallen, 56, was walking home from a Bradford bar on Sept. 11, 2015, with his son when the pair allegedly got into an altercation with the four accused.
McCallen later died of head injuries in hospital.
Jury selection will continue on Wednesday. The lawyer for one of the accused told CTV News he’s hoping this time the jurors listen to the judge’s instructions so the trial can proceed to the end.
