No plea yet for man charged in Vaughan crash
Marco Muzzo remains jailed until Oct. 19 bail hearing, will miss planned wedding day
It’s too early to say whether a man charged with impaired driving in a Vaughan crash that killed three children and their grandfather will plead not guilty, his lawyer said Friday.
Brian Greenspan made the comment to reporters following a court hearing in Newmarket, where he asked Justice of the Peace Philip Solomon to adjourn the bail hearing for Marco Muzzo until Oct. 19.
Until then, Muzzo, 29, will remain in custody.
Muzzo is facing several impaired driving charges for the Sept. 27 crash that killed 9-year-old Daniel Neville-Lake, Harrison, 5, Millie, 2, and their 65-year-old grandfather, Gary Neville.
“Marco is, first of all, devastated by the horrific loss of life and has expressed to me on numerous occasions his condolences and sympathy to the family,” Greenspan told reporters outside the court.
Asked if Muzzo intends to plead not guilty, Greenspan said, “That’s premature. It’s not an appropriate question at this stage.”
Greenspan said he is still waiting for disclosure from the Crown.
Muzzo’s bail hearing is now scheduled to occur on the same day as the federal election. Greenspan said the Crown and defence had forgotten Oct. 19 was election day when they requested that date.
“We did it quite inadvertently,” he said. “It was purely inadvertent and not intentional.”
When Muzzo entered the prison- er’s box in handcuffs in a black shirt and trimmed beard, he appeared much thinner than in Facebook photos.
He briefly glanced at his family in the front row, but mostly kept his eyes downcast and remained silent.
Members of Muzzo’s family, including his mother, Dawn, and fiancée Taryn Hampton, whom he was set to marry Oct.17, sat in the packed courtroom flanked by private security during the short court proceeding. Three court officers remained at the door.
Both women were stone-faced as they left the courthouse. Dawn Muzzo, showing no emotion, looked straight ahead as she was guided by court officers to a line of white SUVs, ignoring the swarm of reporters around her asking questions and taking photos.
“I can only say that I hope that he finds it within himself to plead guilty, that these lawyers that money is buying encourage him to do the right thing,” MADD York Region chapter president Kathy Mitchell told reporters outside the courthouse.
“Going through the process for this family is probably going to take two and a half to three years, and people shouldn’t have to relive it every time they have to come to court.”
Candlelight vigils were held Thursday for the four crash victims. Two visitations are scheduled for Sunday in Brampton.
The Muzzo family owns the construction company Marel Contractors and condominium builder Pemberton Group and is worth nearly $1.8 billion, according to Canadian Business magazine.