A six-man, six-woman jury acquitted Elijah Marfoh, 20, and Cleveland VanEvery, 21 of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Nebiyu Myers, 19.
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During a four-week trial, Marfoh of Brantford, testified that he had shot Myers, but said he was in self-defense when his friend and fellow drug dealer turned on him with a gun in the stairwell of an Alfred Street home.
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Assistant Crown attorneys Alex Burns and Anthony Minelli had laid out a case suggesting Marfoh and VanEvery were angry at hearing Myers had killed a fourth member of their drug “family” just days earlier. Isaiah Castillo was shot and killed on April 14, 2021. Police determined Myers had been the shooter.
During the trial there was much made of the fact Marfoh was wearing a ski-mask, which he said was a fashion accessory, as he went to the Alfred Street home and, when he left, carried both his own and Myers’ gun – which may have misfired during the incident.
A defense led by Ehsan Ghebrai characterized Nebiyu Myers as a dangerous man who had stabbed his father in the face and stabbed a friend in the stomach during an argument.
Both Marfoh and VanEvery still face charges of illegal possession of weapons and other offenses. They will return to court shortly to face those, who had been set aside while dealing with the murder charges.
The jury in the case deliberated for about three hours on Thursday before returning its verdict in the late afternoon.
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