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Closing submissions underway in murder trial

Closing submissions are underway in the trial of two men charged with first degree murder of an innocent couple in a rural home near Cranbrook in 2010.
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Jeffrey Taylor and Leanne MacFarlane.

Closing submissions are underway in the trial of two men charged with first degree murder of an innocent couple in a rural home near Cranbrook in 2010.

The trial of Colin Correia and Sheldon Hunter began in October, 2020, after being delayed six months because of the onset of the pandemic. It was again adjourned until January, 2021, for issues related to Covid-19 concerns, and then delayed again after the defendants came down with the coronavirus.

An email from the BC Prosecution Service said that as the matter is still before the court the BCPS will not be commenting on the case or summarizing the lengthy evidentiary basis for the submissions that [the BCPS] are currently making to the court.

Crown closing submissions were expected to conclude Friday, Dec. 3, and defence submissions were scheduled for four days next week.

At the conclusion of submissions the court will reserve and deliver its verdict sometime in the future.

Colin Correia and Sheldon Hunter are accused of first-degree murder in the deaths of Jeffrey Taylor and Leanne MacFarlane, who were killed at a home outside Cranbrook in a horrific case of mistaken identity May 29, 2010.

Over the years, investigators and agencies within and outside the RCMP tracked down leads, which led to developments allowing for the identification of suspects and an evidence package that was approved for charges by the B.C. Prosecution Service.

Colin Correia and Sheldon Hunter were arrested in 2018 separately in Alberta, following a police investigation spanning years into the deaths of MacFarlane, 43 and Taylor, 42. They are both charged with first-degree murder for their alleged role in the deaths.



Barry Coulter

About the Author: Barry Coulter

Barry Coulter had been Editor of the Cranbrook Townsman since 1998, and has been part of all those dynamic changes the newspaper industry has gone through over the past 20 years.
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