PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – A public opinion poll failed to sway a B.C. Supreme Court judge to move a high-profile serial murder trial from Prince George to Vancouver.
The decision against the change of venue for the trial of Cody Legebokoff was made in December 2012, but a publication ban was only lifted recently after he was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder.
During the hearing, Legebokoff’s lawyer, James Heller, claimed extensive media coverage and some of the pre-trial publicity had connected Legebokoff to the murders or disappearances of women on the so-called Highway of Tears between Prince George and Prince Rupert.
The defence paid for a public opinion poll which it said raised a spectre of bias, but Justice Glen Parrett said the survey offered little in deciding if the court venue should be changed.
Parrett refused to grant the move and said a fair trial before an impartial jury could take place in Prince George.
Legebokoff was convicted by a jury earlier this month and sentenced to life in prison for the murders of Cynthia Maas, Jill Stuchenko, Natasha Montgomery and Loren Leslie.
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