Despite juror delay, trial of former EMDC staffers gets underway at London courthouse

The first day of proceedings in the trial of two former Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre staffers, charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life in the October 2013 murder of inmate Adam Kargus, got underway Tuesday at the London courthouse.

Former operational manager Stephen Jurkus and former correctional officer Leslie Lonsbary are charged in connection to Kargus’ death at the jail on Oct. 31, 2013. Kargus, 29, was brutally beaten to death by his cellmate, Anthony George, who is now serving a life sentence for second-degree murder after pleading guilty in September 2017.

The beating is said to have gone on for around an hour, with Kargus repeatedly screaming for help. His body was found in the jail’s showers the next morning.

Both Jurkus and Lonsbary have pleaded not guilty.

The Crown then laid out its case against Jurkus and Lonsbary and called its first witness before Justice Jonathon George and the 12-person jury, selected on Monday, who will ultimately decide their fate.

The Crown has accused Jurkus of failing to act on information from another officer, including that George, a known violent offender, was intoxicated from alcoholic “brew” the night of Kargus’ murder.

Lonsbary is accused of not following mandated routine upon taking control of the jail range and for failing to adequately monitor the inmates in keeping with the jail’s standard operating procedures.

The witness called by the Crown, London police Sgt. Cam Halliday, became involved in the case a month after Kargus’ death.

The court was shown a silent video in which George can be seen putting Kargus in a chokehold. The act, which took place the afternoon before Kargus was murdered, was allegedly dismissed as “horseplay” by an officer on duty, said Crown lawyer Fraser Kelly.

WATCH: Shane Kargus describes the last time he saw his brother alive (November 2014)

Kelly suggested the fatal nighttime beating by George took place without any intervention by Lonsbary, who was situated in a control room nearby.

In a split-screen video showing a view of the range and the control room where Lonsbary is stationed, inmates in neighbouring cells can be seen in their windows banging on the doors, apparently trying to get someone’s attention.

Six inmates at the jail have filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against the provincial government, alleging psychological trauma from having witnessed Kargus’ murder while locked in their cells.

After about two hours, the video was paused, and court was adjourned for the day.

The trial will resume on Wednesday.

Since 2009, 13 inmates have died at the jail. A joint inquest by the province is underway into the deaths of three — Floyd Deleary in August 2015, Justin Thompson in October 2016, and Murray James Davis in August 2017.

With files from Natalie Lovie and Matthew Trevithick