Moncton murder trial moved to spring 2022
Calvin Andrew Lewis had been scheduled to stand trial in July and August
A four-week jury trial for a man accused of murdering his common-law partner last year has been rescheduled from this summer to next spring in Moncton.
Calvin Andrew Lewis is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of 43-year-old Tina Tingley-McAleer.
It's alleged he killed Tingley-McAleer at their home on Main Street in Hillsborough, about 25 kilometres south of Moncton, on the morning of May 2, 2020.
He appeared in Moncton's Court of Queen's Bench on Monday morning before Justice Zoël Dionne. A publication ban prohibits reporting details of the appearance.
Lewis was previously set to stand trial July 26 through Aug. 20. The trial, however, is now scheduled for April 18 to May 13, 2022.
The reason for the change wasn't mentioned Monday. Lewis remains in custody pending the trial.
A voir dire, a hearing to determine admissibility of evidence during a trial, is scheduled from Aug. 9 to 20 this year.
Family members previously told CBC Tingley-McAleer was a mother of three and grandmother of six who was always available to help people in her community.
Court records show Lewis had previously been charged with assaulting Tingley-McAleer.
Lewis's trial was one of three murder cases scheduled almost back-to-back through the summer in Moncton.
Jake Mischiek pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder days before a four-week jury trial was set to begin.
Marissa Shephard, accused of killing Baylee Wylie in 2015, is scheduled to stand trial over 12 weeks starting Aug. 3. It's the second time she will be tried on the charge after a previous conviction was overturned on appeal.
The new trial dates for Lewis are close to those originally proposed last year before Chief Justice Tracey DeWare raised concerns about how far into the future murder trials were being scheduled in Moncton.
Proposed trial dates for Lewis and Mischiek had been in 2022 before being moved to this year.