The trial of one of two Kamloops man charged in connection with a 2019 slaying in Brocklehurst is now underway in B.C. Supreme Court.
Hugh McIntosh, 52, is charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder, counts stemming from an incident at a residence on Feb. 15, 2019, that left one man dead and a woman with gunshot wounds to the face.
Monday (Feb. 8) marked the first day of what will be a four-week trial in which the Crown plans to call two-dozen witnesses. McIntosh, who is in custody, has pleaded not guilty. The trial was scheduled to begin on Feb. 3, but was delayed due to an illness involving the accused.
The proceedings got underway with the Crown's opening statement and the calling of its first witness.
McIntosh has been charged alongside Gordie Braaten, who will be tried by a separate jury in a separate trial beginning next month. As the details on the evidence presented during the McIntosh trial will overlap with those forthcoming proceedings, KTW will refrain from reporting the details of the McIntosh case until Braaten’s trial is underway, which is expected to occur during the week of March 22.
The McIntosh case is the first jury trial in Kamloops to take place during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 14-person jury is separated by Plexiglass and equipped with masks during the trial.
A jury usually consists of 12 members, but Justice Dev Dley expanded it to 14 given the anticipated length of proceedings to ensure a full-12 person jury can participate in deliberations. The law requires only a 12-person jury deliberate and two will be excused beforehand by random number draw at the conclusion of trial.
