Updated at 12:21 p.m. Wednesday
MONCTON – The judge in the first-degree murder trial of Fred Prosser has declared a mistrial.
Global’s Brion Robinson was at the Moncton courthouse this morning, when it was revealed one of the 12 jurors selected Monday was found to be a member of an anti-Prosser Facebook group.
Prosser was charged with the first-degree murder of 25-year-old Sabrina Patterson, of Riverview, in 2010.
Patterson, Prosser’s former girlfriend and the mother of his two children, went missing Oct. 29, 2010. Her body was found in the woods near Shenstone Nov. 6, 2010.
Patterson’s brother, Dale Patterson Jr., brought the juror’s presence on the Facebook page to the attention of the Crown prosecutor.
The woman’s family says they want a fair trial after Judge George Rideout declared a mistrial. After consulting with the Crown and Prosser’s defence, Rideout set Nov. 20 as the date to being the new jury selection and trial.
Aside from the murder charge, Prosser was also charged with sexual assault, sexual assault causing bodily harm, anal sexual assault and two counts of breaching a court undertaking.
The seven men and five women chosen to be jurors were selected from a field of about 300 people.
Five weeks had been set aside for the trial.
*With files from the Canadian Press
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