THUNDER BAY - With the trial against 21-year-old Brayden Bushby expected to begin one week from today, two billboards have been put up in the city with the phrase: ‘Justice for Barbara.’
The billboards appeared on Monday and include the hash tags for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Indigenous Lives Matter, and No more Stolen Sisters, as well as the line: ‘We stand with the Kentner family.’
A member of a First Nation community in Grand Council Treaty #3 said another member paid to put up the billboards but has not responded to requests for comment.
A jury trial was originally scheduled to begin this week against Bushby for the charge of second-degree murder. However, last month the Crown said it will be filing a new indictment on charges of manslaughter and aggravated assault, with a four-day trial by judge alone to begin Tuesday, Oct. 13.
Defense attorney George Joseph said due to the fire at the Thunder Bay Courthouse on Sunday and the courthouse being shut down for the week, it is unclear at this time if the trial will begin on Tuesday.
The new charge has resulted in outrage from First Nation leaders, Kentner's family, and people speaking out on social media.
The case has been moving through the justice system since 2017, when it is alleged on the night of Jan. 28, Bushby threw a metal trailer hitch from a moving vehicle that struck Kentner in the abdomen.
Kentner died in hospital in July 2017 at the age of 34.
The case has taken many turns in the past three years, with Bushby first charged with aggravated assault after the incident. Following Kentner’s death and a review of the case by the Crown, Thunder Bay Police Service, and the Regional Coroner’s office, the charge was upgraded to second-degree murder, to which Bushby pleaded not guilty.
In January 2019, a judge overseeing the preliminary hearing held in September ruled there was enough evidence to proceed to trial on the charge of second-degree murder.
Joseph and fellow defense attorney Ryan Green filed a certiorari application, arguing the preliminary hearing judge erred in his ruling to commit Bushby to stand trial for second-degree murder, but the decision as upheld in June 2019.
None of the allegations have been proven in court. Bushby was released on bail in November 2017.
