LEGAL ARGUMENTS MADE IN ADVANCE OF MURDER TRIAL

SYDNEY — Legal arguments covering a number of issues began Wednesday in advance of a scheduled Supreme Court trial in September for a Glace Bay man charged with seconddegree murder. Thomas Ted Barrett, 41, is charged in connection with the May 2012 death of 21-year-old Laura Catherine Jessome, of Bras d’Or. Jessome’s remains were found inside a hockey bag that had been tossed into the Mira River in Marion Bridge.

At the outset of Wednesday’s hearing, Justice Frank Edwards imposed what he termed “a sweeping publication ban.”

The ban prohibits any reporting of the exact nature of the arguments, the positions advanced by the Crown and defence and decisions rendered by the court. Such details can be reported at the conclusion of the trial.

Further arguments are expected to be made in August with jury selection scheduled for the first week of the September.

The trial is set to begin Sept. 11.