Preliminary inquiry for accused murderer Craig Pope to begin in May
Accused murderer Craig Pope will have his preliminary inquiry begin in late May.
The decision was made Thursday morning when the case was called in provincial court in St. John’s.
Pope appeared via video link from Her Majesty’s Penitentiary, where he has been in custody for the past four months.
His lawyer, Jon Noonan, and Crown prosecutor Shawn Patten agreed to schedule the inquiry from May 28 to June 8. The inquiry will give lawyers a chance to assess the evidence against Pope, and a judge will determine whether there are enough grounds to send the case to trial.
If the case goes to trial, Noonan told Judge Lori Marshall that Pope has opted to be tried by judge and jury at Newfoundland Supreme Court.
Pope is charged with the murder of 36-year-old Jonathan Collins on Alderberry Lane, off Mundy Pond Road in St. John’s, on the afternoon of Sept. 7,
2017.
Police received a report of an injured man outside a residence and arrived to find Collins, who had been stabbed and was unconscious. He was taken to hospital by paramedics, but later died of his injuries.
Pope, 32, allegedly fled the scene in a cab, and was arrested a short time later near Elizabeth Avenue. Court documents indicate he lived on Alderberry Lane.
Police say Pope and Collins were known to each other.
The stabbing is not believed to have been random.
Pope is charged with seconddegree murder and two counts of failing to abide by a probation order.
He had been released from jail weeks before his Sept. 7 arrest, having been convicted in July on charges of criminal harassment, uttering threats, fraud and breaching court orders.