The trial for Hannah Leflar took another turn on Wednesday morning when the judge declared a mistrial for the case.
On Tuesday, Justice Lian Schwann sent the jury home saying there was new evidence in the case that she needed to discuss with the Crown and defence.
Schwann told the jury Wednesday morning, the mistrial was due to “some very recent information which just came to the attention of counsel Monday night.”
Due to a publication ban, the reasons behind the decision for the mistrial cannot and will not be revealed in order to keep the next jury impartial.
Leflar’s family members broke into sobs as Justice Schwann dismissed the jury. A new jury will be selected.
READ MORE: Youth pleads not guilty to first degree murder as Leflar trial begins
Crown prosecutor Chris White called the outcome “frustrating.”
“We didn’t expect this to end in this fashion but the judge felt it was important, that the evidence was important enough that we essentially needed to hit the reset button,” White said.
“We had relied on some authority suggesting that a mistrial was a very drastic option and often in most cases, courts prefer something short of a mistrial like an adjournment. In a jury trial, it’s tricky because you have 14 people who have been inconvenienced already have to come back in a month, which isn’t pragmatic.”
White said the mistrial is another blow to Leflar’s family.
“This is the second blow in relation to this that they had to deal with in the last month, with the other young person, that matter getting adjourned back in October.”
“This is certainly tough to take, unfortunately it’s more of the same for them and it’s unfortunate.”
A new trial has been set for Feb. 6, 2017, and is expected to last two weeks.
Leflar, a Grade 11 student at Thom Collegiate, was found dead in her Regina home just a few blocks away from the school on January 12, 2015.
The 18-year-old who is in court for the murder of Hannah Leflar has plead not guilty to the charges earlier this week.
The youth who attacked Leflar with the knife already pleaded guilty to the first degree murder charge in April.
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