Jury out at murder trial of Halifax man

• The f ate of Christopher Garnier, accused of punching and strangling Nova Scotia police officer Catherine Campbell and using a compost bin to dump her body, is now in the hands of the jury.

Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Joshua Arnold delivered his final instructions to the jury Wednesday before deliberations began around 6 p.m. They wrapped up only 30 minutes later, and were to continue Thursday morning.

Garnier is charged with second- degree murder and interfering with a dead body in the death of Campbell, a 36- year- old Truro police constable who was off- duty when she met him at a downtown bar.

The Crown alleges Garnier punched and strangled Campbell inside a Halifax apartment in the early hours of Sept. 11, 2015, and disposed of her body near Halifax’s Macdonald Bridge.

The defence has argued that Campbell died accidentally during consensual rough sex.

Arnold told the jury there are three possible verdicts for the murder charge: Garnier could be found guilty of manslaughter, guilty of second-degree murder, or he could be found not guilty.

“You must consider the evidence and make your decision without sympathy, prejudice or fear,” Arnold said during his four-hour address, as Garnier sat quietly at his lawyer’s bench.

The judge instructed the jury on what he called a “decision tree,” in which the jurors answer a series of questions to guide them in reaching their verdict.

Those questions — the essential elements of the second-degree murder charge — include whether Garnier caused the death of Campbell, whether he caused it unlawfully, and whether Garnier intended to kill Campbell.

For the second charge, Arnold explained that if the jury determined Garnier did interfere with Campbell’s remains, they must then determine if he was in a state of automatism at the time.

Defence lawyer Joel Pink had argued in his closing arguments Monday that the defence of automatism was available to Garnier. The trial heard Garnier claim he cannot remember much of what happened after Campbell’s death.

Arnold explained that automatism is when a person is in a state of impaired consciousness and does not have voluntary control of their actions.

He said if the jury finds Garnier was in a state of automatism following Campbell’s death, then the jury must find him not guilty of interfering with a dead body.

Just before deliberations began, two members of the 14- member jury panel were dismissed. A jury of seven women and five men will decide Garnier’s fate.

Pink has told the jury that his client “at all times acted lawfully and properly.”

“There was an unexpected tragedy on McCully Street in Halifax. A tragedy, however, does not make the actions of a man or woman a crime,” he said Monday.