Accused in decades-old P.E.I. murder case might ask for bail hearing in fall

The man accused of killing a Montague teacher more than three decades ago could ask for a bail hearing in September when his case returns to P.E.I. Supreme Court.

On Thursday, Todd Joseph Gallant's lawyer said he will seek a show-cause hearing this fall to determine whether his client has to stay in jail while the case works its way through the court.

"What we've done is requested that there be a show-cause hearing — or bail hearing — which is an opportunity for the parties to demonstrate, while Mr. Gallant is in custody, should he stay in custody or should he be released on some form of bail?" said defence lawyer Chris Montigny.

Gallant, who also goes by Todd Joseph Irving, is charged with first-degree murder and interfering with human remains in the death of Byron Carr in 1988.

The Montague high school teacher was found strangled in his Charlottetown home, but the case eventually went cold until Charlottetown police announced Gallant's arrest this January. 

P.E.I. Supreme Court Justice Jonathan Coady agreed on Thursday to adjourn the case until Sept. 10 because the defence doesn't have the full disclosure of evidence from the Crown yet.

"Until we have that, it's really challenging for us to know what the case is...," Montigny said. "So we just asked that it be adjourned so we could better understand where to proceed."

A date for the show-cause hearing is not likely to be set until after the September court appearance. Montigny said he hopes a plea can also be entered at that time.

Crown attorney Christopher White said police are having technical difficulties providing the disclosure because the investigation spanned so many years.

Montigny said he's received some of the materials, but has been told the bulk of it is yet to come.

"The Crown's indicated it's just a lot of material," he said.

White said in court that the Crown hopes to provide the defence with a digital copy of the evidence within the next week.

Because of the complexities of the case against Gallant, Montigny said it will now go through what's called a case management conference, where both the defence and the Crown work on scheduling details and filing deadlines.

"That, I think, is a positive development for everybody," Montigny said. "It will be more organized and better presented in front of the court if we have that opportunity."