Legal Aid appeal delaying attempted murder trial

A Lethbridge lawyer is still waiting for Alberta Legal Aid to decide whether it will pay for a DNA expert's testimony in an attempted murder trial.

Legal Aid had initially denied Scott Hadford’s application, but he appealed several weeks ago and is still waiting for a decision. During a hearing Friday in Lethbridge provincial court, an agent for Hadford said defence is not sure why Legal Aid is taking so long, but it would do its best to expedite the process.

The Crown and defence had hoped to set a date to resume the trial, which has been adjourned several times since the conclusion of the Crown's case in December. The matter was adjourned again Friday to March 17 to learn whether Legal Aid has made a decision.

Evidence and testimony heard so far during the attempted murder trial are part of a voir dire — a mini trial within a trial to determine the admissability of evidence — and can't be published unless the judge allows the evidence into the trial proper.

However, police reported in a news release shortly after the incident May 3, 2015, that a woman was asleep at a family member's home when a man broke into the residence through a patio door and sexually assaulted her. A family member confronted the suspect and called 911, but the assailant dragged his victim outside and continued the assault, then slashed her throat with a knife before running away.

The woman was rushed to the hospital where she required surgery.

The suspect was charged with attempted murder, aggravated sexual assault, unlawful confinement, break and enter and commit sexual assault, uttering threats and robbery.

The Crown intends to seek an adult sentence even though the accused, who can't be identified under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was only 17 at the time of the offences.

In a preliminary hearing last year, a judge granted a request by the Crown to allow hearsay evidence. The ruling was necessary since the woman who was sexually assaulted and had her throat slit died of unrelated causes several months after the incident and can't testify or be cross-examined.

A second witness for the Crown also died, forcing the Crown to rely on the evidence of police officers who spoke to the witnesses and recorded their statements.