No verdict yet in Phillips murder trial
Day 2 of jury deliberations in the murder trial of Brandon Phillips ended without a verdict Wednesday, though the jury did return to the courtroom for a few minutes.
After a day of deliberating, the six women and six men indicated they had a question for Justice Valerie Marshall.
Marshall took the unusual action of banning the public, including members of victim Larry Wellman’s family and the media, from the courtroom while the question was addressed.
The jurors wrapped up their day around 4:30 p.m. and will be back at Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in St. John’s on Thursday morning. They will resume deliberations after the court finishes addressing their query.
Phillips, 29, is accused of firstdegree murder and armed robbery, among other charges, in connection with the shooting death of Wellman, 63, on Oct. 3, 2015.
Crown prosecutors Shauna Macdonald and Mark Heerema allege Phillips entered the Captain’s Quarters hotel in St. John’s just before midnight, wearing a mask and carrying a sawedoff pump-action shotgun. The Crown alleges that Phillips, after demanding money from the bartender, shot and killed Wellman, who had tried to intervene in the robbery.
Defence lawyers Jeff Brace and Mark Gruchy say the only evidence connecting Phillips to the shooting is circumstantial, and they say Wellman was fatally shot after he swung a small table at the gunman and it struck the shotgun, causing it to discharge accidentally.