2 years after murder charges almost stayed, Adam Picard found guilty
'I am not guilty,' Adam Picard tells court after verdict delivered. 'This is not over.'
In a case that almost never came to trial due to major delays in the justice system, former soldier Adam Picard has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2012 shooting death of 28-year-old Fouad Nayel.
A jury at the Ottawa courthouse reached its decision Wednesday afternoon. Picard was sentenced to life in prison and will not be eligible for parole for 25 years.
For Fouad Nayel's parents Amine and Nicole, it was six long years to see Picard face justice.
"Thank God it's over for now," Amine Nayel said outside the Ottawa courthouse on Wednesday afternoon.
The outcome, however, was never certain for the family.
They reported Fouad missing in June 2012. His remains were found six months later in a wooded area near Calabogie, Ont.
Picard was charged soon after, but it wasn't until 2016 that Picard was set to stand trial. Then, an Ontario Superior Court judge argued it had taken too long for Picard to get a trial and stayed the proceedings against him.
That controversial decision came after the Supreme Court established guidelines for getting cases to trial in a reasonable amount of time, a ruling that's come to be known as the Jordan decision.
The decision, however, was overturned by the Ontario Court of Appeal. In August 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear Picard's appeal, allowing the trial to go ahead.
Picard expected to appeal
In court on Wednesday, Picard appeared in disbelief over the verdict.
In a tense moment, he addressed the court, apologizing to the family for their loss — leading some family members to stormed out of the court — but also maintaining his innocence.
"I am not guilty," Picard said. "This is not over."
Picard's lawyers also indicated they would appeal the verdict.
"I know he's going to appeal," Amine Nayel said outside the court. "Let him do whatever the hell he wants. I know where he's going to be."
In court the Crown told the jury of three women and nine men that Picard, a former soldier, killed Fouad Nayel, a construction worker, over nine kilograms of marijuana.
Picard, the court heard, lured Nayel to a location near Calabogie and shot him twice — once in the head and once in the torso — before fleeing with Nayel's marijuana.
'We won the battle, but we still lost the war'
Both Fouad's parents delivered victim impact statements after the jury delivered its verdict.
"A parent should never have to go through the pain of burying their child," Nicole Nayel told the court, noting they'd been waiting for justice for six years.
Amine Nayel described how he desperately searched for his son after he disappeared, only to find out he was dead.
He said Picard's actions caused him to develop PTSD and suffer a heart attack. He called Picard a "monster" and said he hoped his son would haunt his dreams.
"We won a battle, but we still lost the war," Amine Nayel said outside court. "My son's not coming back. But thank God the delays in the justice system were ironed out."
With files from Ryan Tumilty