Crown appeals verdict in Anne Norris murder trial
Anne Norris’s lawyers are undaunted by a notice of appeal filed by the Crown earlier this week, looking to have the verdict in her murder trial overturned.
Prosecutors Iain Hollett and Jeff Summers have given notice to Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador
Court of Appeal that they want to appeal the jury’s not criminally responsible verdict in the killing of Marcel Reardon.
Norris, 30, admitted to killing Reardon, 46, by hitting him repeatedly in the head with a hammer in May 2016, but her lawyers — Rosellen Sullivan and Jerome Kennedy — argued she should be found not criminally responsible for his death by way of a longstanding mental illness causing her to experience delusions and psychotic episodes.
Hollett and Summers argued there was no evidence Norris was suffering from such episodes at the time she killed Reardon, and maintained she planned to kill him and knew exactly what she was doing.
On Feb. 24, after a six-week trial that included the testimony of 31 witnesses, the jury agreed with the defence.
Norris was transferred from jail to the Waterford Hospital two days later, and will remain there until she is deemed safe to live in the community by a review panel, or the verdict is overturned.
“I can confirm that Mr. Kennedy and I are confident in the position put forward at trial, and we are confident that we can address the grounds of appeal put forward by the Crown,” Sullivan told The Telegram Wednesday evening.
Hollett and Summers had 30 days from the verdict delivery to file a notice of appeal, and indicated once Norris’s trial was over they would considering. In order to get a new trial, they will have to prove there was an error in law at the original trial.
Sullivan and Kennedy have 30 days to file their argument in response.