It’s been over three years since 22-year-old Lasalle mother Samantha Higgins was found dead and dismembered.
Her fiancé at the time was charged with first-degree murder, but Nicholas Fontanelli has still not gone on trial. Now, he won’t for at least another year because his lawyer has another case to defend first.
“It was postponed one year due to my agenda,” Fontanelli’s lawyer Marc Labelle said on Friday. “Fontanelli had to decide between his right to a speedy trial, and the right to the lawyer of his choice.”
“This other trial, from what I hear, would have been in jeopardy because of the delay, and Mr. Fontanelli basically gave his place in the lineup,” said Crown prosecutor Louis Bouthillier.
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That’s hard for Samantha’s family to accept.
“It reminds me so much of the medical situation,” her mother Vanessa told Global News. “It’s not enough doctors, not enough nurses. It’s the same thing in court — not enough judges, not enough lawyers, so things get slowed down.”
Fontanelli’s lawyer was at the Quebec Court of Appeal on Friday trying to have the charges against his client reduced.
“I asked the Court of Appeal to decide this morning yes or no if this matter should go to trial on a charge of murder 2 instead of murder 1,” Labelle told Global News.
Labelle’s argument is that the murder was not the result of a sexual assault.
“Once the Crown proves the murder was a result of sexual assault, it automatically becomes first-degree murder,” explained Joseph Boro, a lawyer not involved in the case.
For Fontanelli, the lower charge could make a huge difference.
“The difference is a full 15 full years to serve if you’re found guilty between murder in the first degree or murder in the second degree,” explained Labelle.
READ MORE: Fiancé charged with first-degree murder of Samantha Higgins
Meanwhile, the Higgins family waits in limbo.
“Obviously I’m upset about that. We don’t have any closure yet. We don’t know everything that happened, so it’s a little hard to move on. It’s like I’m just stuck in this spot,” said Vanessa Higgins.
“You expect the victim’s mother in such a case to be worried about the way things are being done. I understand her feelings and I share her grief. Obviously, her daughter was murdered so it’s a very difficult situation for her,” said Bouthillier, the Crown prosecutor.
It may take weeks or even months for the Court of Appeal to render its decision on whether or not the case should move forward on the lesser charge.
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