Man accused of double murder to testify at his Moncton trial
CBC
Janson Baker will testify in his own defence on charges alleging he killed two people in Dieppe in 2019.
“You’re going to hear from Mr. Baker, he’s going to testify,” defence lawyer Brian Munro told the 14 jurors Wednesday in an opening statement that urged them to keep an open mind.
Baker’s jury trial on two counts of first-degree murder began seven weeks ago in Moncton’s Court of King’s Bench.
Baker is accused of killing 78-year-old Bernard Saulnier and his wife, 74-year-old Rose-Marie Saulnier, on Sept. 7, 2019.
Crown prosecutors finished calling evidence in the trial last week. It was unclear until Munro’s opening statement whether the defence would call any evidence.
Baker is not obligated to testify, something Munro said as he introduced himself to the jury in the brief statement.
The first defence witness he called was Baker’s mother, Julie Silliker.
Silliker, a vice-principal at a Moncton school, testified about pawning a neck chain in 2020 when Baker was released from prison. The jury has heard from several other witnesses about the chain.
The Crown alleges Baker received a chain, as well as cocaine, as payment for the murders.
The Crown’s case alleges Baker was directed by a drug trafficking network to find and kill the son of the Saulniers, Sylvio Saulnier.
Sylvio was part of the drug network, but police raids in August 2019 led to what the Crown described as a rift and the belief Sylvio had stolen from the group.
The jury has heard Baker went to the Saulnier home with another man, Zachery Trevors, the night of the killings. Trevors testified he saw Baker in the couple’s home, and later heard a woman’s scream followed by two bangs.
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