A Sudbury man serving a life sentence after being found guilty in 1997 of killing another Sudbury man and burying his remains in a southern Ontario corn silo won?t be getting a new trial.
Last week, the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of Leo Henry Pilotte, 45, of Hanmer.
Pilotte was convicted five years ago in the 1995 murder of Gerald Leveille, 40, also of Hanmer.
Leveille's remains were found by police in 1996 buried inside an abandoned corn silo near Oshawa. Leveille was last seen alive on Feb. 19, 1995. A pickup truck he owned was found in a Toronto shopping mall in March.
Police received a tip about where Leveille's remains might be found, and dental records confirmed human remains found inside the corn silo were his.
Pilotte was arrested in a small town in Washington in the Pacific northwest during a routine traffic stop on Aug. 8, 1996. Pilotte was returned to Sudbury and went on trial in 1997 and was found guilty by a jury.
At trial, several witnesses testified Pilotte believed Leveille was the man responsible for breaking into his home and stealing a safe containing money and valuables.
Several of the same witnesses testified Pilotte told them he beat Leveille and then used a shovel to kill him at Rocky Mountain Ranch in Blezard Valley.
The Ontario Court of Appeal has the right to order a new trial if judges there believe the presiding judge at trial made any serious errors in law during the course of the trial.
