Man accused of manslaughter, indignity to remains of Rothesay woman elects jury trial
Calvin Burns-Smith, 31, is charged in death of Sarah Teakles, 26, on April 14 in Musquash
A man charged with manslaughter and indignity to human remains in connection with the death of a 26-year-old woman from Rothesay has elected to be tried by a judge and jury with a preliminary inquiry.
Calvin Burns-Smith, 31, of Musquash, appeared in Saint John provincial court by video Monday.
He's accused in the death of Sarah Teakles, who was last seen April 14 in Musquash, about 30 kilometres west of Saint John. The mother of two was reported missing to police the next day.
On April 17, RCMP located her vehicle in Maces Bay, about 22 kilometres southwest of Musquash. Later that day, with the assistance of police dog services, officers located her body.
Her cause of death has not been released.
Teakles and Burns-Smith had been dating on and off, her mother, Cathy Dubee, previously told CBC News through family friend Tiffany Harvey.
The RCMP's major crime unit is "investigating all possible elements related to the homicide, including intimate partner violence," Cpl. Matthew Leblanc-Smith previously told CBC News.
Because it's an active investigation and before the courts, he said in an email, the RCMP couldn't discuss the cause of death.
Accused of threatening another woman
Burns-Smith is also charged with two counts of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm to another woman on April 5 and April 17 at or near Saint John.
On Monday, he pleaded not guilty to those charges, as three female supporters looked on from the front row.
Burns-Smith was already in custody on the threats charges after being arrested by the Saint John police the same day he was arrested by the RCMP on April 21 in connection with Teakles's death.
He was charged April 22 with committing manslaughter on April 14 at or near Musquash, and with indignity to or interference with human remains.
Crown prosecutor Elaina Campbell told the court she expects the preliminary inquiry — a hearing held to determine if there's enough evidence to proceed to a trial — will take "at least" two weeks.
That's "an unusual amount of time" for a matter to be scheduled in provincial court, according to Judge Andrew LeMesurier. He adjourned setting a date for the hearing until July 14 to allow time to consult with the chief judge.
Legal aid lawyer Pavish Singhla, who appeared as agent for Burns-Smith's defence lawyer Charles Bryant, asked for the trial on the threats charges to be set after the preliminary inquiry.
But the Crown requested "immediate" trial dates.
"He's remanded on this. There's no reason to wait for a preliminary," Campbell said.
The judge agreed. "I think we'll just maybe set it down for trial now. It's going to be a year anyways," LeMesurier said.
He adjourned setting the date, however, until July 14, when Burns-Smith's lawyer is expected to be present.
Burns-Smith remains in custody.
Victim recently obtained carpentry certificate
Teakles had recently attended New Brunswick Community College and obtained her certificate in carpentry, "which she was very proud of," according to her obituary.
Her "most favourite things" were spending time with her children baking cookies and catching hermit crabs at the beach, it says.
Teakles attended Rothesay and Simonds high schools, where she was a member of the hockey, field hockey and softball teams. Outside school she played lacrosse, soccer, softball, and ice and ball hockey.