Judge gives instructions to the jury

A judge is giving his final instructions to the jury in the murder trial of Christopher Garnier, accused of strangling Nova Scotia police officer Catherine Campbell and using a compost bin to dump her body.

Justice Joshua Arnold told the Nova Scotia Supreme Court jury today that after he is finished instructing them on the law, they will be sequestered until a verdict is reached.

Garnier is charged with second-degree murder and interfering with a dead body.

During his instructions, Arnold has reviewed evidence presented at the trial over the last four weeks.

He told the jury there are three possible verdicts for the murder charge: Garnier could be found guilty of manslaughter, guilty of second-degree murder, or he could be found not guilty.

Arnold told jury members their verdict must be unanimous, although they do not have to arrive at a conclusion in the same way.

The Crown alleges Garnier punched and strangled the 36-year-old Truro police constable after they met at a Halifax bar in September 2015, and used a compost bin to dispose of her body near Halifax’s Macdonald Bridge.

The defence has argued that Campbell died accidentally during consensual rough sex.

Defence lawyer Joel Pink asked the jury during his closing statement Monday to find his client not guilty of both charges.