2 men found guilty of 1st-degree murder of Justin Breau in Saint John
CBC
Charles Shatford and Donald Walker were found guilty of first-degree murder by a jury in Saint John on Thursday afternoon.
Shatford, 49, and Walker, 52, were charged with the Aug. 17, 2022, murder of Justin Breau, 39.
The jury sent word just before 2 p.m. on Thursday that they had reached a verdict — after nearly 11 hours, over two days, of deliberations.
Walker showed no emotion when the verdict was read, while Shatford loudly expelled a held breath when he was declared guilty by the jury foreperson.
That brings to six the total number of people convicted in Breau's death.
Four others were previously sentenced after pleading guilty to a variety of lesser charges. All were initially charged with first-degree murder.
Throughout the trial, the jury heard references to a third man in the apartment with Shatford and Walker, but they didn't hear his name or what role he was alleged to have played. That man was Evan Louis Tobias.
In August, less than a month before the trial began, Tobias, 30, was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in Breau's death. Tobias admitted going into Breau's apartment and stabbing him in the leg multiple times.
In May, Donald Walker's 26-year-old son, Dustin Trey Walker-Hammond, was sentenced to two years less a day for manslaughter for his role.
In April, Travis Earl Boudreau, 34, and Sarah Jean Belzil, 37, pleaded guilty to being accessories. They were both given a one-year conditional sentence to be served in the community. Boudreau had spent 22 months in jail awaiting trial and Belzil 7½ months.
Over nearly five weeks, the jurors heard from 20 witnesses. Although neither Walker nor Shatford testified, the jury heard from them through videos collected by the Saint John Police Force during their investigation — and decidedly more from Shatford.
Over several hours of videotaped interviews with police, Shatford initially remained adamant that he had nothing to do with Breau's death. He said he had never been in Breau's apartment and didn't even know where it was.
Eventually, however, Shatford admitted to being in Breau's apartment and stabbing him, but said it was in defence of Walker. Shatford said Breau attacked Walker as soon as they walked in the apartment.
Walker, meanwhile, was placed in the apartment by Breau's girlfriend Megan Ross, who was in the room when Breau was stabbed. She initially told police that three masked men burst into their apartment and immediately began stabbing Breau. She said all three men stabbed him and that he didn't have a chance to react.
It may be a long and circuitous route, but a decaying wooden wharf in Albert County inevitably leads to the founding of Canada’s public broadcaster.
A man who admitted to sneaking into store staff rooms to steal wallets, keys and cellphones in a string of thefts has been sentenced to over two years.
The Saskatchewan government has changed the provincial Correctional Services Act to reflect a ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the burden of proof for inmate disciplinary hearings.
Tyler Hellard and his debut novel, Searching for Terry Punchout, are featured on the longlist for this year's Canada Reads contest.
The NDP leadership race could be turning into a nail-biter with no clear winner in sight. But it's unclear if Canadians are tuning in.
As the prime minister gears up to visit China, his parliamentary secretary, MP Kody Blois, says Mark Carney would like to "recalibrate" Canada's once-frosty relationship with the Chinese government and look at economic opportunities for the two nations.
Ontario appears set to push ahead with a ban on declawing cats and debarking and ear cropping dogs, a move animal welfare advocates say is years overdue and doesn’t go far enough.
If you’ve ever wanted to groove to music while drinking coffee, the Kitchener Downtown BIA has you covered this winter.
Iranian Montrealers rallied in the downtown core Saturday afternoon in a show of support for the people of Iran.
A Manitoba judge says Natural Resources Minister Ian Bushie must reconsider granting permits to a company that's no longer allowed to take tourists to see polar bears in large tundra vehicles east of Churchill.
Some people from a northern Saskatchewan reserve were left without phone landline and internet services for weeks, and wonder why it took so long for SaskTel to address the issue.
Alberta’s rate cap is deepening financial losses in the province's auto insurance market, industry experts say, as a new report found auto insurers lost more than $1.2 billion in 2024.
Environment and Climate Change Canada says an atmospheric river will take aim at British Columbia's south coast this weekend as heavy rain continues to batter the north coast.