Jury selection began in Sudbury Superior court March 18 for the trial of the last of five men charged in connection with a 2021 fatal fire on Bruce Avenue.
Liam Stinson is facing three counts of being party to first-degree murder, and one count each of party to the offence of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and party to an offence of arson - disregard for human life.
The charges stem from a fire that broke out in a residence on Bruce Avenue in the early morning hours of April 11, 2021.
Four individuals were inside the Bruce Avenue housing unit where the fire originated, which was determined to be deliberately set.
One 37-year-old man escaped by jumping from a window and was seriously injured. A 26-year-old woman, Jasmine Marie-Claire Somers, was pronounced dead at the scene and a 50-year-old man, Guy Armand Henri, was later pronounced deceased at Health Sciences North. A fourth individual, a 33-year-old woman, Jamie-Lynn Lori-Lee Rose, was pronounced deceased at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.
On Monday, Stinson pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Under the Criminal Code of Canada, a charge of being “party to” an offence can be laid against those who aids or abets “any person in committing an offence” and are considered to be “a party to that offence.” Under the code, “abetting could mean encouraging, instigating, promoting or procuring a crime to be committed, and must be done during the actual commission of the offence.”
Stinson is charged in connection with four other men, Phillippe Jeannotte, Jared Herrick, Riley Roy and Fernand Bolduc, who have largely made their way through the court process.
The details of their cases have been under a publication ban awaiting Stinson’s judge and jury trial.
On Sept. 16, 2022, Roy, who was facing a charge of conspiracy to commit a break and enter, pleaded guilty to attempting to obstruct police. The Crown withdrew the conspiracy charge Roy was facing. Roy received a one-year conditional sentence order, including six months of house arrest and six months of a curfew.
Fernand Bolduc was charged with three counts of being a party to first-degree murder; being a party to attempted murder; being a party to arson with disregard for human life; and conspiracy to commit murder. The charges against Bolduc were stayed Sept. 15, 2022, and Bolduc is serving a sentence for an unrelated crime.
Herrick received 17 years, and with pre-sentence custody considered, that meant 13.5 years for each manslaughter charge to which he pleaded guilty, to be served concurrently.
Jeannotte was sentenced to 16 years, less time and a half for the 672 days he spent behind bars awaiting trial, which dates back to his arrest on April 29, 2021. That means 13 years for each manslaughter charge, to be served concurrently.
Jeannotte was also ordered to pay $250,000 to the City of Greater Sudbury in restitution for the three city-owned geared-to-income units on Bruce Avenue damaged in the fire.
The trial's first day saw the court lobby filled March 18 with more than 100 potential jurors brought in to fill twelve jury seats, with four alternates; 14 will sit for the whole trial, with two alternates selected on an as needed basis.
Stinson is represented by Toronto-based lawyers Joseph Wilkinson and Liam Thompson, both of Wilkinson Legal. Representing the Crown is Alayna Jay and Kaely Whillans.
Jury selection resumes March 19. The trial is expected to last upwards of seven weeks.
Jenny Lamothe is a reporter with Sudbury.com.
