Slain man's family 'nervous' as jury selection begins
Ex-soldier Adam Picard charged with murder of Fouad Nayel in 2012
After waiting six years for the trial of the man accused of killing Fouad Nayel to begin, the slain man's mother says she's feeling 'nervous' now that jury selection is finally underway.
"I'm still a little bit nervous because what happened last time, it was during the jury selection," said Nicole Nayel. "That's when everything went [and] crashed in front of our face."
In August, Adam Picard, the former soldier accused of killing the 28-year-old, lost his bid to the Supreme Court to halt the trial over concerns about delays in the case.
Charge stayed in 2016
Picard was arrested in December 2012 in the killing of Nayel, who went missing in June that year.
His trial for first-degree murder was set to begin in 2016, but the Ontario Superior Court of Justice stayed the charge in light of new time limits established by the Supreme Court.
The Ontario Court of Appeal overturned that decision and ordered the trial to proceed, prompting Picard to take his case to the Supreme Court.
'I've been in hell'
Nicole Nayel said her son's death and her experience with the justice system have completely changed her life.
I trusted the system, and basically it failed us.— Nicole Nayel, victim's mother
"I've been in hell because my life is turned upside down and the system didn't make it any easier for us," she said. "It made it difficult every step of the way.
"I trusted the system, and basically it failed us."
Nayel said her son was a happy, trusting person who loved life and valued family.
"I want him to rest in peace. Until this point he hasn't rest[ed] in peace. We haven't rest[ed] even, because I have been dealing with fighting the system and trying to get justice instead of grieving the loss of my son," Nayel said.
"I lost a piece of my heart and I could never get it back. It left a big hole."