Michael Ball says he’ll have a new lawyer representing him when his second murder trial begins.
Speaking to CTV News, Ball said that he had yet to determine exactly who that lawyer would be, but has narrowed down his search to a handful of Toronto-based lawyers with experience on high-profile murder cases.
Additionally, Ball said that he wants his second trial to take place somewhere other than Waterloo Region.
His first trial ended in a mistrial, as jurors were unable to reach a verdict on whether he had murdered Erin Howlett.
The jury did find him guilty of committing an indignity to a dead body, an offence for which he was sentenced to time already served, plus one day.
Howlett’s remains were found in the Grand River in Kitchener in July 2013, having been placed into a duffel bag.
The Crown alleged that Ball choked Howlett to death inside his Kitchener apartment, then put her body into the bag and took it to the river.
Ball has said that he was angry with Howlett, but did not kill her.
Ball, who spent nearly two years in prison before the trial and remains on bail with strict conditions, made a brief appearance in Kitchener court on Friday.
His next court date is scheduled for May 27.
