New trial ordered in Jordan Manners murder

Two 20-year-old men accused of murder after the shooting death of 15-year-old Jordan Manners are going back to court.

On Thursday, Judge Ian Nordheimer set a bail hearing for May 3, after which a new trial will commence on January 10, 2011.

A mistrial was declared March 26, 2010 after two key Crown witnesses testified in court that they had lied in their statements to police the day of the shooting, leading to a deadlocked jury.

That followed a tension-filled day where reports of youths in gang colours were seen to have been lined up outside the courthouse at 361 University Avenue.

A police emergency response team was sent to contain the crowd while rumours emerged of weapons being smuggled into the courthouse. The crowd immediately dispersed after police reinforcements arrived and no weapons were found.

Media reported at the time that there were suspicions the Crown witnesses had been intimidated, which is why they changed their accounts from having seen the murder to testifying they were merely repeating what they had heard in the school’s hallways.

That prompted Mr. Justice Nordheimer to refer the witnesses’ actions to the Ontario Attorney General, Chris Bentley, for review.

On May 23, 2007, Manners was found shot in the chest in a hallway at C.W. Jeffreys Collegiate Institute in North York. He died in hospital a short time later.

The two accused remain nameless due to the fact they were under 18 when manners was killed. They are publicly known as “J.W.” and “C.D.”

About this article

By: Dan Heyman
Posted: Apr 1 2010 5:31 pm
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Filed under: News