THUNDER BAY - The trial against Brayden Bushby who is accused in the 2017 death of Barbara Kentner has been delayed due to a recent fire at the Thunder Bay Courthouse.
Acting Crown attorney, Trevor Jukes, along with defense attorney’s George Joseph and Ryan Green appeared before Justice Helen Pierce on Wednesday, who informed counsel that the trial cannot proceed on Oct. 13 as scheduled.
The Thunder Bay Courthouse has been closed since a fire broke out Sunday in an electrical room on the seventh floor.
A spokesperson with the Ministry of the Attorney General said the Courthouse would be closed for the rest of the week.
This is the third time the trial against Bushby has been delayed. It was first schedule to take place in January 2020, but was adjourned to wait for the Ontario Court of Appeal to deliver a decision in January concerning the law as it pertains to jury selection.
The new trial date scheduled for April 2020 was adjourned again due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was to open on Oct. 5, 2020 with jury selection, with Bushby facing a charge of second-degree murder.
Following the Crown’s decision to file a new indictment on charges of manslaughter and aggravated assault, the trial by judge alone was scheduled to begin on Oct. 13 and take four days.
A case conference will be held on Thursday to canvas for a new date later this year or early 2021.
Bushby is accused of throwing a metal trailer hitch from a moving vehicle that struck Kentner in the abdomen on the night of Jan. 28, 2017 while walking in the Cameron Street area.
Kentner died in hospital in July 2017 at the age of 34.
None of the allegations have been proven in court. Bushby was released on bail in November 2017.
