Accused Niagara murderer Michael Durant’s fate now in hands of judge
With lawyers’ arguments wrapped up, Superior Court Justice to render his verdict Nov. 10
Michael Durant is guilty of firstdegree murder even if the victim was dead when Durant put her in a car trunk and moved her body, lead Crown attorney Michael Sabbadini said Friday.
Sabbadini told Superior Court Justice Gerald Taylor the evidence indicates Durant believed the victim was alive — and that elevates the crime from second-degree murder or manslaughter.
“Pathologists couldn’t nail down how long she would have lived with her injuries, but the evidence from Mr. Durant himself indicates he believed she was still alive.
“Mr. Durant was holding her in his arms when he put her in the trunk. He was in a position to know.”
Durant’s ex-wife, Dana Arnold, who was driving, testified she asked if the victim was still alive and Durant replied that she was still breathing.
“This isn’t a sophisticated plan, but it is calculated and shows he had time to form the intent to kill her,” Sabbadini said.
Durant, 47, is accused of killing a 32-year-old Niagara Falls woman in August 2003.
The autopsy revealed she died from blunt force injuries the attacker could have inflicted with a hammer. The assailant’s blows left the victim with massive fracturing of the skull, which was indented in several places.
The victim’s head was partially “skeletonized” when her body was found. There wasn’t enough brain tissue left for the pathologist to definitively determine how long she could have survived. The range was instantaneous to a few hours, depending on the rate of swelling of her brain.
The victim’s body was discovered Aug. 9, 2003.
Police arrested Durant in January 2006. He was convicted of the murder in 2012 and sentenced to life with no possibility of parole for at least 25 years. The Court of Appeal overturned Durant’s conviction in 2019, and a court-imposed publication ban protects the victim’s name.
In its decision, the appellate court said the jury should have been allowed to consider a lesser charge of manslaughter or second-degree murder at the first trial.
Sabbadini’s response Friday to defence attorney Joe Wilkinson’s closing argument concluded the submissions.
Taylor conducted the trial without a jury in Kitchener.he will render his verdict Nov. 10.
Durant testified in his own defence and told the court another man, John Mcneil, the victim’s boyfriend, killed the victim with a hammer.
Sabbadini said Arnold’s surprise arrival home from work interrupted the killing.
“He can’t really finish the job with the hammer because Ms. Arnold is there,” Sabbadini said. “I don’t want to be trite, but that would be very awkward.
“He decides to finish her off by taking her to Darby Road. He knew it was a remote location where no one would find her.
“She has no cellphone, no shoes, and no purse. Mr. Durant put her in a ditch where no one would see her. Even if she regained consciousness and managed to crawl around, there was no one to find her.”
Sabbadini said the trip to rural Darby Road wasn’t an exercise in getting rid of a body postoffence.
“He wanted to finish the witness off because she was still alive,” Sabbadini said. “Ms. Arnold testified she asked Mr. Durant if they should take the victim to the hospital. He said no. He said that because he believed she might regain consciousness and identify him.
“The evidence is that Mr. Durant doesn’t want to risk getting caught.”
“Even if you decide the act in the garage was impulsive, and he didn’t have a complete intent, the decision to finish her off is first-degree murder.”