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Crown wraps Ronald Fowler attempted murder case

Defence expected to call single witness, the accused, on Friday morning
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Smithers courthouse

The Crown has wrapped up its case in the attempted murder trial of Ronald Fowler.

Fowler is charged with allegedly shooting George Parent on Oct. 14, 2017 in Two Mile.

Today (Mar. 7), the jury heard testimony from an RCMP civilian forensic video analyst and a Hazelton RCMP officer who reviewed all the video recorded on the day of the shooting by four video cameras around Fowler’s property.

The jury saw 21 video clips from the day in question that establishes a timeline of some of the movements of both the accused and victim around the time of the shooting.

Prosecutor Paul Backhouse also questioned the victim’s brother Louis Parent on Thursday. Louis testified that George and Fowler had a falling out in 2016 over some old farm equipment in a barn on the property the two Parent brothers share on Six Mile Road.

On the day of the shooting, Louis said, he had given Fowler permission to collect some wasp’s hives from the property. He could not recall whether he had let George know about the arrangement.

Louis talked to Fowler again that evening, after the shooting occurred according the Crown, and everything seemed to be fine, the witness said. Later, he received a phone call from a third party letting him know his brother had been shot.

At the end of the Crown’s submissions, defence attorney Joseph McCarthy told the Court he would be mounting a defence Friday morning. He said he would be calling one witness, that being his client.

As it stands, McCarthy said he could not foresee a circumstance in which the evidentiary part of the trial would not be concluded by the latest on Monday morning, leaving the rest of that day for discussions regarding instructions to the jury.

Closing arguments would then proceed on Tuesday with Justice David Masuhara’s charge to the jury coming on Wednesday.

McCarthy hinted he would be arguing self-defence.

The trial resumes Friday morning (Mar. 8) at 10 a.m. at the B.C. Supreme Court in Smithers.



Thom Barker

About the Author: Thom Barker

After graduating with a geology degree from Carleton University and taking a detour through the high tech business, Thom started his journalism career as a fact-checker for a magazine in Ottawa in 2002.
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