The jury at the Michael Ball trial was still deliberating as of 6:00 p.m. The judge told the six men and women on Wednesday morning they can now decide if the 24-year-old Kitchener man is responsible for killing Erin Howlett.
There are four verdicts in this case: First degree murder, second degree murder, manslaughter or an acquittal, according to the judge.
The 28-year-old Elmira woman is described as beautiful and bubbly. In July of 2013, her body was found stuffed in a bag in the Grand River along the Walter Bean trail.
The crown claims Michael Ball, who was Howlett’s drug dealer and one time boyfriend choked her to death at his basement apartment in Kitchener.
The same basement where Howlett’s brother, Dane Howlett, met Ball while his sister was dating him and claims he did not have a good feeling about him.
“When you have a gut instinct about somebody, it’s difficult to hear that. But the evidence will all be presented in court and a fair just decision will be made,” says Dane Howlett on February 17th.
In the weeks before Howlett disappeared, she rekindled a relationship with a man named James Baechler.
Baechler was never a suspect in this case. However, Ball’s lawyer believes Baechler was involved in Howlett’s murder and called Baechler to the stand.
The case was nearly declared as a mistrial after Baechler ran into the crown attorney, Roger Dietrich, at the courthouse and said “Toni says hi” right before he testified.
Dietrich learned his distant relative is dating James Baechler. He notified the defence immediately about the potential conflict of interest.
The judge ruled there was no conflict of interest and the trial against Michael Ball was allowed to continue.
