What the Sarnia murder trial jury didn’t hear

A jury spent seven weeks listening to the testimony of 15 witnesses before deciding late Thursday to convict Joshua Tomlinson of second-degree murder in the 2021 fatal stabbing of Sarnia senior Allen Schairer.

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But there’s a lot they didn’t hear over that month and a half that, until they left to deliberate and were sequestered, was covered by a publication ban. But with that ban no longer in place, those details can be disclosed:

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MISTRIAL DECLARED ON DAY 1

The trial, which initially featured Tomlinson, 38, and Noah Brown, 31, both accused of second-degree murder, got off to a rocky start with a mistrial declared on the first day.

Shortly after the jury and alternates were selected April 2, some caught a glimpse of Brown’s handcuffs being removed before he was brought into court.

The jurors did not see Tomlinson in handcuffs and weren’t aware either accused was still in custody.

Concerned this might prejudice his client, Brown’s lawyer, Michael Moon, asked for a mistrial. Superior Court Justice Michael McArthur, the judge overseeing the trial, granted his request.

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“It’s no one’s fault,” Moon told The Observer at the time, recalling the same thing had happened to a previous client.

Fortunately, there were enough people left in the jury pool to restart the process the next day and a new trial got underway April 3. The second jury was unaware of the mistrial and never learned both Tomlinson and Brown had been in custody since they were arrested in late January 2021.

MORE MISTRIAL ATTEMPTS

Tomlinson’s lawyer, Terry Brandon, told the judge late in Week 5 she was considering seeking a mistrial because Moon was repeatedly calling her client’s story of where he was the night Schairer died an alibi on cross-examination. She later abandoned it.

But Monday, just as closing arguments were to begin, she told the judge she was seeking a mistrial for other reasons. The jury was excused until Wednesday, with a full day set aside Tuesday for arguments.

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Brandon focused on several issues, including trial fairness and cumulative prejudice. Part of her concern was tied to Moon’s cross-examination of her client and the Crown and Moon asking the jury to convict Brown of manslaughter before leaving the trial.

Brown later pleaded guilty to manslaughter and breaking and entering before a different judge.

McArthur dismissed the mistrial request.

“The court does not find there’s an accumulative effect of prejudice by the defense as alleged by defense counsel,” he said.

TOMLINSON’S SECOND MURDER CASE

Behind the scenes arguments went on for days about a second murder charge Tomlinson faces in the death of a different Sarnia senior shortly before Schairer died. It came to a head April 17, shortly after Brandon questioned witness Sheena Bates about being fearful of Brown and how he was allegedly a drug-debt enforcer.

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With the jury gone, Moon told the judge Brandon was warned about wading into character evidence against his client as it would open the barn door to him introducing the second homicide charge.

The questions Brandon asked Bates didn’t just open the door, Moon argued. “She burned the barn down.”

Next day, the jury learned of the second homicide while Moon questioned Sarnia police Det. Const. Tyler Callander.

EMOTIONAL TOLL OF TESTIFYING

Surie Landry-Caudle, Tomlinson’s girlfriend in January 2021, spent multiple days on the stand testing about him coming home late on Jan. 26, 2021, with a nasty cut on his hand and wearing new clothes. Moon’s cross-examination of her relationship with Tomlinson hit her particularly hard as she was seen sobbing in the courthouse hallways during a break. But the jury never saw this, as she collected herself before the trial resumed.

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JUROR NEARLY DISMISSED

A juror appeared to pass out early in the trial during an expert witness’s testimony and an ambulance was called to the courthouse.

At that point, multiple alternates were available, so the judge considered discharging him.

“But I don’t think that’s appropriate right now,” he told the lawyers.

The juror stayed through to Thursday and was one of the 12 chosen to deliberate.

DIRECTED VERDICT

Near the end of the trial’s fourth week, Moon considered applying for a directed verdict on the basis that the evidence supported a conviction for manslaughter, not second-degree murder, for his client. But after thinking it over for a couple of days, he told the judge he wasn’t going ahead with it.

DOODLES

Tomlinson’s artwork took center stage May 7. Brandon noticed her client had been doodling on yellow paper during the trial to help cope with his ADHD symptoms, so she gathered several of them, including some crumpled up in the garbage, and wanted them entered as an exhibit to demonstrate his disability. She urged the judge to take a look, as some of them were quite detailed.

After a long debate between all three lawyers, the judge ruled against this, saying it would be more of a distraction for the jury.

“The doodles will not be admissible,” he said.

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@ObserverTerry

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