William Sandeson, who was recently granted a new murder trial by Nova Scotia’s highest court, is still in need of a lawyer ahead of his retrial.
Sandeson, 27, appeared in Nova Scotia Supreme Court via video link Thursday morning.
The former medical student indicated that he had a lawyer from Ontario lined up, but Legal Aid, which is providing counsel, has asked that he exhaust his local options before they will consider a certificate for an out-of-province lawyer.
READ MORE: Former medical student William Sandeson granted new murder trial
The matter was set over for another week to allow him time to contact Nova Scotia lawyers. He’s scheduled to return to court on July 16.
Sandeson was found guilty of first-degree murder in June 2017 in connection with the death of 22-year-old Taylor Samson, who is believed to have been killed inside Sandeson’s south-end Halifax apartment.
Last month, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal ruled that a mistrial should have been granted after it was found that a private detective for the defence gave critical information to the police.
Sgt. Bruce Webb, a private detective who was hired by Sandeson’s lawyers prior to the trial, interviewed two key witnesses as part of his investigation.
The court heard that during the interviews with Blades and McCabe, Webb learned the pair changed their stories significantly since their initial police interviews back in 2015.
Webb testified that he brought that new information to the police, but it was during the trial that Sandeson’s lawyers learned that had occurred. They asked for a mistrial, but the request was denied.
In last month’s decision, Justice David Farrar said the trial judge “erred in failing to consider whether the undisclosed evidence impacted the ability of the defence to bring process-oriented responses such as Charter challenges.”
READ MORE: Decision reserved in convicted killer William Sandeson’s appeal
Nova Scotia’s Public Prosecution Service says it will be reviewing the decision in detail.
There currently is not a timeline for when Sandeson’s retrial will begin.
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