One of the two men on trial for murder in the fatal stabbing of a Sarnia senior has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
One of the two men on trial for murder in the fatal stabbing of a Sarnia senior has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and will be sentenced next week, a major development that took place a few days ago but couldn’t be reported on until Thursday evening due to a publication ban.
Advertisement 2
Article content
Joshua Tomlinson, 38, and Noah Brown, 31, both pleaded not guilty over a month ago to second-degree murder and breaking and entering the death of Allen Schairer, 62, a retiree and photographer who lived alone on Devine Street near Tecumseh Park . He was found stabbed to death in his bathtub on Jan. 26, 2021, after police discovered his car abandoned on Sarnia’s outskirts, the trial has heard.
Article content
Following six weeks of evidence from 15 witnesses, there appeared to be a significant development ahead of closing arguments as the jury was asked May 10 by the Crown and Brown’s lawyer to find Brown guilty of the lesser included offense of manslaughter and breaking and entering with intent.
Instead, when the jury returned Wednesday after being excused for a couple of days, they were told by Superior Court Justice Michael McArthur that Brown was no longer part of the trial. McArthur asked them not to speculate why he was gone, adding his absence should have no impact on their deliberations on Tomlinson.
Advertisement 3
Article content
The reason was covered by a publication ban in effect until the jury was sequestered and began deliberating in Tomlinson’s case at 5:20 pm Thursday.
With the ban lifted, it can be reported Brown pleaded guilty to manslaughter and breaking and entering before a different judge, Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia, on Monday. His sentencing was adjourned to next week.
Brown’s lawyer, Michael Moon, was asked by The Observer outside court after the jury was initially asked to find his client guilty of manslaughter why his client was going that route. Moon said he was instructed by Brown to do that once the evidence at trial established he really had no material involvement in Schairer’s death and the Crown acknowledged it was the appropriate charge.
Advertisement 4
Article content
“It was a position that the client’s always had, that it properly reflected his degree of culpability, and I think that was just reinforced by the way the evidence came out at trial,” he said.
Asked how his client was feeling, Moon said Brown always felt terrible because of his degree of involvement. Moon pointed to the video played for the jury of Brown’s reaction at Sarnia police headquarters shortly after his arrest on Jan. 28, 2021.
“He was pretty emotional that he didn’t know Mr. Schairer was dead. It’s been eating away at him throughout all these years. So there is a sense of closure on his part and he’s hoping that it will also help the family in their sense of closure going forward,” he said.
But Brown’s decision late in the trial, including what the jury was briefly told about it last week, was one reason Tomlinson’s lawyer, Terry Brandon, asked the judge this week to declare a mistrial. After lengthy argument Tuesday, McArthur dismissed the bid and closing arguments went ahead Wednesday and Thursday.
That development also was covered by the publication ban until the Tomlinson jury started deliberating Thursday evening.
Tomlinson has maintained his innocence, testing he walked from his Kathleen Avenue home to Exmouth Street the night Schairer died looking for businesses to break into for drug money and he knew nothing of a murder or a break-in.
Article content