Murder trial on pause for pandemic
Retrial of Jeremy Hall for 2006 murder of Billy Mason expected to be a priority when courts reopen
As the pandemic edges into its third month, the mother of a murdered man awaits justice.
So, too, does the incarcerated man accused of shooting him and incinerating his remains.
Their case will be Hamilton court’s top priority when the lockdown is lifted. It was the only first-degree murder trial in progress when the state of emergency was declared.
It is the matter of Jeremy Hall, accused in the high-profile 2006 death of Billy Mason, 27, whose body was never recovered. The complicated and volatile judge-alone trial — a retrial after Hall’s 2013 conviction was overturned on appeal — was nearly done when the pandemic hit. After two months of testimony there were just a few witnesses left before it would be in the hands of Justice Andrew Goodman to render a verdict.
That process is now paused. Indefinitely.
“All parties, the Crown included, are anxious to resume the trial as soon as circumstances permit,” says assistant Crown attorney Steve O’Brien, who is prosecuting the case with Mark Dean.
No return date has been set and no details of how trials will be safely conducted have been finalized.
Two other Hamilton murder trials — one for first-degree, the other for second — were on the cusp of beginning when the courts were shut down. They have been adjourned and new dates have yet to be set.
It is an unprecedented pause in our criminal justice system. Everyone involved is awaiting the next step.
“This break has been horrible,” says Donna Dixon, Billy’s mom. “It has been detrimental mentally and physically. I am drained.”
Donna was in the courtroom not just each day of this trial, and the first trial, but just about every single court day related to this case for a decade.
“Having to go through this again has ripped my insides out,” she says. “This feels like it’s brand new again.”
This hiatus has left her without the supports usually in place during a trial. While she has phone conversations with her victim services worker, it is not the same as being seated next to her every day. And Donna says she finds strength and support from the homicide investigators and Crowns during the trial as well.
Right now, she feels isolated. Hall may feel that too. He is in prison, where concern about COVID-19 outbreaks is very real.
His lawyer, Dirk Derstine, did not respond to interview requests.
Hall is not likely to get much sympathy from the public. He has a long, violent criminal history, including a conviction for committing manslaughter while in prison.
He is accused of driving Billy to a rural area, fatally shooting him and burning his body while drinking beer with a pal, who later became the Crown’s star witness. Hall allegedly committed the murder because he believed Billy framed him for a drug rip that left him — and his family — a target for Hells Angels.
Hall’s wife, Carol Anne Eaton, had to be tracked down, arrested and jailed after she failed to comply with a subpoena to testify at Hall’s latest trial. Her damning videotaped statement to OPP and Hamilton police during their investigation was found inadmissible at his first trial. But the law has since changed and this time the video, in which she indicated her husband killed Billy and she could smell his body burning outside their farmhouse — was ruled admissible.
The Hall trial is “a poster case for prioritization,” when courts reopen, says Toronto defence lawyer Michael Lacy, past-president of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association of Ontario.
While usually there are strict timelines for trials under the so-called Jordan Decision, those rules will almost certainly be suspended due to COVID-19 without fear of a case being tossed, Lacy says.
“It’s hard to envision how this case would not clearly fall into the ‘exceptional circumstances’ category. There’s no question courts are trying to respond to a very dynamic situation.”
While Lacy does not believe the Hall trial will be compromised, he wonders how courts will balance safety and openness when matters resume.
Right now, proceedings are taking place by video, which makes it difficult for everyone who is interested to participate, he says. Physical distancing will compete against the “open court principle” that protects the rights of Billy’s mother, the media and other observers to be in the courtroom, Lacy says.
Donna says she is confident Hall will again be found guilty.
What she fears is not being in the courtroom to see it.