Baltovich's murder retrial stalls as new judge takes over
Wednesday, October 17
- Organization: The Toronto Star
Another judge has taken over the murder retrial of Robert Baltovich, and says it will take him some time to get up to speed.
Superior Court Justice David McCombs called it an "extraordinary set of circumstances" that saw the previous trial judge, David Watt, appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal, necessitating his replacement on what was scheduled to be the eve of jury selection.
The veteran criminal trial judge said he wants to read the court documents and rulings to better acquaint himself with the facts.
"I have some knowledge of its history and, frankly, not much more than a person who reads the newspapers," McCombs said yesterday.
Baltovich, 42, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend, Elizabeth Bain.
The 22-year-old University of Toronto student disappeared on June 19, 1990. Her body has never been found but her bloodied car was located a few days later near her family's Scarborough home.
Baltovich, now a librarian living in Peterborough, has always maintained his innocence.
In 1992, a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder, and he was sentenced to life in prison. He served eight years before being freed on bail in 2000 pending appeal. In 2004, the appeal court overturned his conviction and ordered a new trial.
In the new trial, Watt has already ruled on a half-dozen motions.
Defence lawyers and prosecutor Phil Kotanen agreed to reconvene next Monday to discuss whether to let those rulings stand. Still outstanding are six motions that Watt was to rule on last Monday, but did not because of his appointment. They will have to be argued again in front of McCombs.
The trial will likely not begin in front of a jury until the new year.
