THUNDER BAY – The trial for a suspect charged with murder appears ready to begin more than four years after the death of a 54-year-old Thunder Bay man.
Jury selection began Monday morning at the Thunder Bay Courthouse in the trial for Shaldon Wabason, who is charged with second-degree murder in the March 2011 death of Robert Topping.
Wabason, along with Nicholas Webber, Christopher Hawk, and Cody Thompson, were arrested and charged in the March 19, 2011 death of Topping.
Webber pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2013. Hawk pleaded guilty to robbery in 2012 and had the murder charge dropped. In August 2011 Thompson was rushed to hospital from the district jail where he died eight days later and the charges were withdrawn.
Wabason, who was 19 years old at the time of the incident, was previously scheduled to stand trial in April 2013 but proceedings were stayed for more than a year due to a challenge to the jury roll, with defence lawyer Delmar Doucette arguing there was an inadequate representation of First Nations jurors.
The trial is scheduled to continue throughout the week.
