Moncton murder trial jury to continue deliberations into weekend

The jury in a Moncton murder trial will continue deliberating into the long weekend.

Riley Phillips, 20, stood trial in Moncton's Court of King's Bench over seven weeks on a second-degree murder charge in connection with the death of Joedin Leger, 18, on April 25, 2022.

Jury deliberations began Thursday afternoon and lasted several hours. They resumed Friday morning and continued through the day. Deliberations will now continue Saturday morning. 

The trial began Sept. 23 with jury selection and heard from 27 witnesses, including Phillips himself. 

The Crown alleges Leger was shot during a home invasion and robbery gone wrong, while Phillips testified the shooting was in self-defence while confronting Leger about a dispute with Phillips's cousin, Hunter England.

Jurors heard Phillips joined five others that morning. One of the five, who was 17 at the time and cannot be named, was the Crown's key witness and the only one to directly place Phillips at the scene that morning. 

That witness, now 20, testified he pleaded guilty to manslaughter, was sentenced and already released from custody.

The trial was originally scheduled when Phillips was co-accused with four others: brothers Hunter and Jerek England, Hayden Leblanc and Nicholas McAvoy.

While the jury heard the 17-year-old witness had pleaded guilty to manslaughter, they didn't hear that three others also pleaded guilty and have been sentenced. 

Leblanc and McAvoy were sentenced in August, just a month before they would have stood trial alongside Phillips. McAvoy was sentenced to five years. Leblanc was sentenced to five years and two months. 

Last month, while Phillips's trial was ongoing, Hunter England was sentenced to seven years in prison. A publication ban imposed restricted reporting that until Thursday when deliberations began in Phillips' case.