‘Try your best to decide this case,’ Judge tells jury as they begin deliberations in Dean Penney’s murder trial
Penney is accused of killing his estranged wife, Jennifer Hillier-Penney, almost 10 years ago
Less than two hours after they were sent off to begin deliberations on Wednesday, May 20, the jury hearing Dean Penney’s first-degree murder trial decided to break for the night.
The jury of seven women and five men was sequestered for the night at a local hotel.
They’ll return to the Corner Brook courthouse on Thursday, May 21, to resume deliberating and decide whether Penney killed his estranged wife, Jennifer Hillier-Penney, in St. Anthony on Nov. 30, 2016.
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It’s a murder the Crown says was planned and deliberate. Penney confessed to doing so during an interview with a man he thought was the head of a criminal organization.
The criminal organization was, in fact, fake, and the crime boss was an undercover RCMP officer. It was all part of an elaborate investigation technique known as a Mr. Big operation.
Penney’s defence says his confession was also fake and was made out of fear. They say he was intimidated by the crime boss.
They also say he was desperate for the job the crime boss was dangling in front of him. He was near financial ruin, and the job of captaining the crime boss’s yacht would change his life.
His defence has also suggested that another man, who is now dead, was responsible for Hillier-Penney’s disappearance and death.
Her body has never been found.
Charge to the jury
The deliberations began just after 6 p.m. on Wednesday after Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador Justice Vikas Khaladkar completed his charge to the jury.
The charge included a summary of the testimony heard and evidence presented during the trial and an explanation of the law they will need to apply to decide the facts.
Khaladkar told them the first principle they need to consider is the presumption of innocence.
He said the Crown bears the burden of proving whether Penney is guilty of murdering Hillier-Penney, and that guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
He said they could not find him guilty unless they are sure he is guilty.
On the Mr. Big operation, he told the jury that the evidence could result in prejudice and cautioned them that Penney is not on trial for his conduct or association with the fictitious criminal organization.
Over four years, Penney was a participant in over 60 activities, some of them illegal, that he believed were real but were in fact scenarios staged as part of the Mr. Big operation.
The jury hearing Dean Penney’s first-degree murder trial in the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador in Corner Brook will have a lot of material to review when they begin their deliberations. Diane Crocker/THE TELEGRAM
Khaladkar also explained the difference between motive and intent: intent means that a person meant to do what they did, and motive is the reason why they did what they did.
First-degree murder, he said, is a planned and deliberate act, and to convict Penney, the Crown has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he caused Hillier-Penney’s death, he caused her death by an unlawful act, he had intent to cause her death, and that her murder was planned and deliberate.
If they are not sure of all four, they have to find him not guilty. If they are sure, then they have to find him guilty, he explained.
Khaladkar also said their deliberations could lead them to finding him not guilty of first-degree murder but guilty of second-degree murder or manslaughter, or not guilty at all.
The element of self-defence could also play into their decision, he said, as in Penney’s confession, he said Hillier-Penney slapped at him before he pushed her away and she fell down the stairs in the garage of the home they once shared.
Khaladkar also gave the jury a summary of the Crown’s and defence’s theories on the case.
He told them they may have differences of opinion on the evidence, but their decision has to be unanimous, and they should make a reasonable effort to reach a verdict.
“Try your best to decide this case,” he said.
Khaladkar’s charge to the jury was over 60 pages long and took him nearly five hours to complete.
Once completed, a random draw took place to reduce the jury from 13 members to 12. The draw resulted in a man being excused, and the others adjourning to the jury room, where they had supper and started deliberating.
SOURCE: SALTWIRE
