Trial in triple-murder case begins today

A murder trial for a 23-year-old man accused of killing three people in 2015 is scheduled to begin today in a Lethbridge courtroom.

Austin Lane Vielle faces three counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Kyle Devine, 27, Clarissa English, 24, and Dakota English, 18, whose bodies were found in a home in the 200 block of McGill Boulevard West on April 28, 2015. Autopsies confirmed the three people died from multiple stab wounds.

Vielle was committed to stand trial following a week-long preliminary hearing in June of 2016, and later the same month in Court of Queen’s Bench he pleaded not guilty to the charges and an eight-week jury trial was scheduled.

Vielle, who remains in custody at the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, has since re-elected to be tried by judge alone, and the trial has been whittled down to four weeks.

Police found the bodies just before 2:30 a.m. after they received a 911 call from a neighbour. Police said Vielle was acquainted with the victims and known to associate with them.

If the preliminary hearing is any indication, numerous family members and friends of the victims are expected to attend the trial. There was standing room only, and barely that, at the start of the preliminary hearing, and spectators crammed themselves onto four rows of benches, or stood or sat in the aisle. Only a few feet away Vielle sat impassively in the prisoners' dock listening to the proceedings.

Friends and family also attended a two-hour candlelight vigil in Galt Gardens on the eve of the accused’s preliminary hearing. Organizers hoped to attract support and allow mourners — many wore T-shirts with images of Clarissa and Dakota and the words “in loving memory” — to share their memories of the victims.