Fraser jury deliberating

After eight weeks of hearing evidence, the jury in the first-degree murder trial of Alex Fraser will have the final say.

The eight men and four women who make up the jury at about 8 p.m. Thursday began deciding the fate of three Niagara Falls men — Brad MacGarvie, 26; Thomas Nagy, 26; Duran Wilson, 30 — each charged with firstdegree murder in the death of Fraser, 49, also of Niagara Falls.

The jurors deliberated for about an hour before being sequestered for the night at a hotel. They will resume deliberations at 9 a.m. today.

“Justice takes as long as it takes,” said Michael Peterson, one of the lawyers for MacGarvie. “It is height of folly to try and predict how long a jury will be out — or what outcome they will reach.”

Jurors heard from 22 witnesses and a substantial amount of technical evidence in the Superior Court trial held at the Welland courthouse.

The evidence included video from thermal imaging cameras operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The cameras inadvertently captured Fraser’s abduction from a remote area of Fort Erie along the Niagara River known as Gonder’s Flats in the early morning hours of Boxing Day 2014. Fraser’s car was then burned.

Court heard Fraser was then driven in a truck by Wilson and a group that included MacGarvie, Nagy, Victoria Harvey, 23, also of Niagara Falls, and her mother to a wooded area near the Chippawa Parkway in Niagara Falls. He was thrown off a railway bridge into the hydro canal.

A worker at the Sir Adam Beck Generating Station spotted Fraser’s body in the water on March 17, 2015. Fraser’s head was bound with duct tape. His wrists and ankles secured with zip ties.

Judge Robert Reid spent almost nine hours over two days giving the jury his instructions. Jurors can find each defendant guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter or not guilty.

Instructions to the jury included a tutorial on the law as it applies to this case and a discussion of key elements the jury can use in deciding guilt or innocence.

MacGarvie insisted on taking the stand in his own defence earlier in the trial. He admitted to the fatal beating of Fraser and testified neither Nagy nor Wilson had advanced knowledge of his plan or participated in Fraser’s death.

The Crown believes MacGarvie intended to kill Fraser. The Crown told the jury MacGarvie needed Nagy as backup and Wilson to drive, and they were trusted friends and willing accomplices.

Harvey was also initially charged with first-degree murder. However, she pleaded guilty in February to the lesser offence of manslaughter and received a four-year sentence.