In a stunning development in a Yarmouth courtroom on Thursday, a charge of first-degree murder against Jermaine Shawn Middleton was dropped and instead the Crown laid a charge of accessory to murder after the fact in the killing of Neil Joseph Blades Jr. last July.
Less than an hour later, Middleton had entered a plea of guilty to the reduced charge of accessory after the fact. He remains in custody awaiting his sentencing on April 26 in Supreme Court.
What this means is now only Ian Huskins stands accused of murdering Blades on July 11, 2009.
Huskins is also in custody, awaiting a preliminary hearing that will take place on May 6 and 7. The development in the case was devastating to Huskins’ family, who said they could not understand why the charge of murder against Middleton would not reach the stage of a trial. They were in court when the Crown announced it was withdrawing the murder charge since Thursday, March 4 was scheduled to be the first day of a three-day preliminary hearing for Middleton on the charge of first-degree murder.
- Read more special articles :
- - Ian Huskins found not guilty of murder
- - Jury deliberations to resume Friday morning
- - Closing arguments made to the jury
- - No defence evidence called at murder trial
Asked afterwards why the charge of first-degree murder was dropped against his client, Middleton’s lawyer said it was simple. “There’s no evidence.”
The Crown also said it had concluded the evidence did not exist to proceed with the first-degree murder charge.
“In looking at the case, we came to the conclusion that there simply was not a reasonable prospect of conviction,” said Crown attorney Bob Morrison. “In looking at all of the evidence that was available to us, we felt that the appropriate charge to proceed with was the accessory after the fact.”
People began spilling into a Yarmouth provincial courtroom before 9 a.m. on Thursday for Middleton’s preliminary hearing on the charge of first-degree murder. The hearing, people had been told in advance, would begin at 9 a.m. But for nearly two hours nothing happened. Periodically the Crown attorneys and defence lawyers entered and exited the courtroom, but for the majority of the time they were not in the courtroom. Neither were the police investigators.
In looking at the case, we came to the conclusion that there simply was not a reasonable prospect of conviction - Crown attorney Bob Morrison
None of the public sitting inside the courtroom knew or was being told about what was causing the delay to the start of the preliminary hearing. Eventually the judge was told that counsel were in discussions.
Later the Crown came into the courtroom and asked the mother, father and brother of Neil Joseph Blades to step outside the courtroom with him. He later told The Vanguard he told the victim’s family at that time about what was to transpire shortly in the courtroom.
Around 11 a.m. the court proceeding began with the Crown informing Provincial Court Judge Robert Prince that a new information of accessory to murder after the fact had been laid against Middleton. The Crown said it was withdrawing the charge of murder. It was difficult to hear the Crown as he spoke and that, coupled with the surprise withdrawal of the charge, left some people sitting in the courtroom both stunned and confused.
