A woman guilty of committing second-degree murder outside the Prince George courthouse almost five years ago will undergo a fitness hearing on Aug. 11, a B.C. Supreme Court judge decided June 19.
Justice Neena Sharma also granted another two weeks for Charlene Jane Alexander, 59, to undergo a fitness assessment that she originally ordered almost a month ago. Alexander’s lawyer Lisa Helps said the assessment is not complete and her client may see an additional specialist.
Sharma also reiterated a ban on publication of the details of Alexander’s health condition.
“We've set Aug. 11 as a date for a fitness hearing, but what exactly we will be deciding on Aug. 11 will depend on the report,” Crown prosecutor Tyler Bauman told Sharma. “And there's layers of legal complexity that are different than simply making a finding of fitness, pre-conviction.”
Alexander was originally charged in September 2021. She could face a jail term of between 10 and 25 years without parole for the July 2, 2020 fatal stabbing of 26-year-old Jessie Mae Hayward-Lines.
RCMP officers were called to the courthouse around 10 p.m. that night. Hayward-Lines died in hospital.
The victim’s mother, Paula Hayward, is angry that justice is delayed again.
“We’re made to go through this for four years, in and out of court, in and out of court,” Hayward said in an interview. “I’ve had to relive my daughter's death multiple times now, and I don't get it.”
