All four first-degree murder charges against Cody Alan Legebokoff will be combined in a single court case that will be heard in B.C. Supreme Court, criminal justice branch spokesman Neil MacKenzie confirmed Wednesday.
Legebokoff, 21, faces the charges in the deaths of Jill Stacey Stuchenko, 35, Cynthia Frances Maas, 35, Loren Donn Leslie, 15, and the disappearance of Natasha Lynn Montgomery, 23.
MacKenzie said Crown counsel consolidated all four charges into a single direct indictment late last week after receiving
approval from the deputy Attorney General.
MacKenzie was unable to specifically say why Crown counsel chose the route, but there is no doubt it will speed up the process when compared to holding four separate trials. It will also mean a preliminary inquiry for each of the cases will not have to be held at the provincial court level. Legebokoff, who has remained in custody since he was first arrested in December, has chosen trial by jury in B.C. Supreme Court on the Leslie case. Last week, three more charges of first degree murder related to Stuchenko, Maas and Montgomery, were sworn in against Legebokoff.
The matters are next scheduled to be before the court on
Oct. 31 for a fix date hearing.
