Joshua Tomlinson buried his face in his hands as the jury foreperson in his trial read out the verdicts late Thursday night: guilty of both second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Allen Schairer, 62, and breaking and entering into his home.
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The jury, given the green light to decide at 5:20 pm, came back with their decision about four hours later.
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Superior Court Justice Michael McArthur told the jury they had three options on the homicide charge – guilty of second-degree murder, not guilty of second-degree murder but guilty of manslaughter, or not guilty – but it had to be unanimous.
With the guilty verdict to second-degree murder, Tomlinson, 38, will be sentenced to life in prison, McArthur said, with parole eligibility to be decided later this summer. A pre-sentence report was ordered Thursday night.
Tomlinson and Noah Brown, 31, both pleaded not guilty more than a month ago to second-degree murder and breaking and entering the death of Schairer, a 62-year-old retiree and photographer who lived alone on Devine Street near Tecumseh Park. He was discovered in his bathtub stabbed to death on Jan. 26, 2021, after police found his car abandoned on city outskirts, the trial has heard.
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Brown was no longer involved in the trial as of Monday when he entered last-minute guilty pleas to manslaughter and breaking and entering. He’ll be sentenced next week.
But the 12-person panel was still tasked with deciding if, after hearing from 15 witnesses over the past seven weeks, the Crown had proven the charges of second-degree murder and breaking and entering against Tomlinson beyond a reasonable doubt.
Earlier Thursday, prosecutor David Rows outlined the Crown’s theory: that Tomlinson killed Schairer with a kitchen knife after he and Brown broke into his home. Tomlinson cut his own hand during the attack, which is how his DNA ended up on the knife’s handle and on a storage tote in Schairer’s bedroom.
After fencing property stolen from Schairer’s home, Tomlinson discarded his jacket and shoes and bought new boots and clothing before returning home, Rows continued.
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Tomlinson previously testified he was never in Schairer’s home and knew nothing of a break and enter or a murder. That night, he walked from his Kathleen Avenue home to Exmouth Street and back looking for businesses to break into to get drug money. Just before he got home, Brown pulled up in a car, cut his hand with a sharp object and intimidated him into helping him fence stolen property, Tomlinson testified.
Rows told the jury they should reject his testimony. He has an extensive criminal record for crimes of dishonesty – 82 in total, many for breaking and entering, the jury has heard – and lied to his then-girlfriend about where he was that night and how he cut his hand, Rows pointed out. Tomlinson also admitted he lied to police about being at home under his court-ordered curfew following his arrest despite not knowing when the murder took place.
Tomlinson’s lawyer, Terry Brandon, pointed to several missing pieces of evidence and other potential theories for how his DNA ended up on the tote during her closing argument.
Tomlinson’s parole and sentencing hearing will be decided in June. In the meantime, he has another trial coming up soon on a second, separate homicide charge linked to the fatal stabbing of another Sarnia senior just days before Schairer died.
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