Accused to face court Tuesday

REGINA The murder trial for a man accused of playing a role in the 2013 death of Ronald Matthew Kay is to begin on Tuesday.

Of three men charged in the homicide, 23-year-old Lester Alvin Favel is the only one still before the court. Both Trevor Evan Asapace and Bill Leonard Favel previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death and received prison terms for their roles.

Both, court heard on Monday, are expected to testify against Lester Favel at his trial this week.

The trial was expected to start Monday at Regina Court of Queen’s Bench, but had to be set over to Tuesday when it turned out neither of the key witnesses had been brought to court from the federal penitentiary in Prince Albert.

Crown prosecutor Zoey Kim-zeggelaar said the Crown’s case is expected to take less than a week. It’s not yet known whether Lester Favel — represented by defence lawyer Mervyn Shaw — intends on calling evidence.

According to information heard at the sentencings for Asapace and Bill Favel, 32-year-old Kay was reported missing in late November 2013. The investigation failed to uncover the whereabouts of the missing man, and police and Kay’s family went without any clear answers until December 2016.

That month, Asapace walked into Regina Police Service headquarters and confessed to the homicide, having experienced what was later described in court as a crisis of conscience.

The confession in turn led to the arrests of the two Favels.

During the sentencings for Asapace and Bill Favel, court heard Kay was set upon by several others at a house on the 700 block of Garnet Street sometime during the month of November 2013 (the exact date is unclear). Kay was badly beaten, had a pellet gun fired at his groin and was urinated on. His body was then stripped and his hair cut off. Court heard his body was put into a garbage bin, which was rolled away from the house. Kay was never found.

At the sentencings, victim impact statements from Kay’s family expressed the anguish they felt, not only because of the way their loved one died, but because they’ve never been able to give him a traditional burial.

Asapace received a 15year prison term, less remand credit, and Bill Favel a total of 8½ years less remand.