Murderer Adam Picard's conviction upheld by Ontario's highest court
Picard killed Fouad Nayel with a shotgun west of Ottawa in 2012 and buried him twice before remains found
After a hearing last fall, the Court of Appeal for Ontario has upheld a jury's guilty verdict against Adam Picard for the first-degree murder of Fouad Nayel in June 2012 — the latest salvo in a case that was taken all the way to the Supreme Court, and which could return there if Picard appeals this ruling.
For now, Nayel's parents are relieved, but they're angry, too. After nearly seven years of waiting for the appeal process to unfold — Picard had maintained his innocence and vowed to appeal the day he was convicted in 2018 — they face the possibility of going through it again.
"This June 17 it's been 13 years, and we haven't had a break," said Nayel's mother, Nicole Nayel, by phone Friday. "Nobody realizes what it does to the victims.... I haven't had closure."
She, her husband Amine Nayel and their two surviving children have been told not to be surprised if Picard appeals to the Supreme Court.
"That's his right. But as the victims we have no rights, we have no say in it ... the criminals have all the rights, but the victims have no rights."
Jordan ruling had big impact on case
Years ago, the case stood out for the effect that a landmark court ruling in 2016 had on it. Known as the Jordan decision, or 11(b) as it's enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the ruling protects the right of people accused of crimes to get to trial within a reasonable time.
Picard shot Nayel over a large amount of cannabis on Father's Day in June 2012 and buried his body twice — once where the shooting took place at a hunt camp on Brydges Road, and then a few days later at a site off Norton Road, six kilometres away.
Picard tried to conceal the second burial site with cement.
He was arrested in December 2012. From there, it took four years to get to trial in November 2016.
On top of institutional delays, Picard had fired his defence counsel and the assistant Crown attorneys handling the case had heavy caseloads, making them unavailable for trial earlier.
Picard requested an expedited trial date, which was denied in 2015.
About three-and-a-half months after the Jordan decision was released and began making waves in July 2016, Picard asked for his case to be stayed and the matter was argued near the beginning of his trial.
Superior Court Justice Julianne Parfett stayed the charge against Picard, saying the delay had failed Picard as well as the public. A protest took place outside the Ottawa Courthouse.
The Crown appealed, and in 2017 the Court of Appeal for Ontario overturned Parfett's ruling and ordered Picard to stand trial.
He appealed that decision to the Supreme Court of Canada, but the court declined to hear it in 2018. Meanwhile, Picard had applied for a stay of his charge in Superior Court, arguing again that his right to be tried in a reasonable time had been violated. It was also denied.
A jury found him guilty in October 2018.
In a tense address Picard gave in court that day, he apologized to the Nayel family for their loss but also maintained his innocence, leading some of Nayel's relatives and supporters to storm out of the courtroom.
"I am not guilty," Picard said. "This is not over."
Appeal hearing held last fall
A hearing before the Court of Appeal was held last fall. Picard's lawyer Howard Krongold argued that the judge at Picard's trial in 2018 shouldn't have ruled Picard's statement to his first lawyer inadmissible.
He also said the judge made a mistake in his instructions to the jurors about the different paths they could take to find Picard guilty of first-degree murder. Krongold said the judge shouldn't have given them that option if they found the killing was committed during a kidnapping, or that the judge failed to properly instruct them about it.
In a decision released Friday Justice Sally Gomery, who presided in Superior Court in Ottawa before her appointment to the appellate court, wrote that she found no errors by trial judge Kevin Phillips. Justices Jonathan Dawe and Darla Wilson agreed.
Amine Nayel said he doesn't blame his son for what happened the day of his murder.
"He didn't shoot anybody, he didn't hurt anybody. He was the victim, and him being the victim made us victims, and my family is not the same," he said.
"For the rest of my life, I will not forget my son, and my experience. My son was a good guy."
Picard remains in federal custody. CBC News was not immediately able to reach his lawyer for comment.