KEVIN MARTIN Defence keen to move on double-murder trial
The lawyer for double-murder suspect Robert Leeming told court Tuesday he is anxious to get his client’s case moving forward.
Defence counsel Balfour Der told provincial court Judge Allan Fradsham he is prepared to schedule a preliminary inquiry, even though he is still awaiting Crown disclosure in the case.
“The defence was prepared to set a date today,” Der said, after Crown prosecutor Sonya Bertrand asked for a two-week adjournment to determine if time can be made available next February.
“Even though we don’t have disclosure we’re anxious to move it along,” Der said.
He said he would be available for the February dates being looked into by the prosecution.
Leeming, who appeared via closed-circuit TV from the Medicine Hat Remand Centre, where he is currently being housed, did not address court.
The British national, 34, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Calgary mom Jasmine Lovett, 25, and her 22-month-old daughter, Aliyah Sanderson.
Outside court, Der said the public should not read anything into Leeming being moved from the remand centre in Calgary to Medicine Hat.
He said inmates are often moved from one jail to another to accommodate space or security concerns.
“It’s not unusual for inmates to be moved from different remand centres, to be housed in different remand centres, sometimes it is the nature of the crime, sometimes it’s just a space availability issue,” Der said.
He said he doesn’t know why Leeming was moved out of Calgary.
The case returns to court June 11.