Murder trial begins in triple homicide

A 17-year-old youth accused in a triple homicide at a Winnipeg house party began his murder trial Monday.

The teen was allegedly one of two masked gunmen who burst into the home on Alexander Avenue in Winnipeg's Weston neighbourhood on March 29, 2008, and opened fire.

Scott Lavallee, 31, Corey Keeper, 22, and Jennifer Ward, 26, died from their injuries after they were at the house party. Three other people were wounded: two men, aged 19 and 29, and a 41-year-old woman. They survived the attack.

The 17-year-old accused was 15 at the time of the shooting. His alleged accomplice, a 20-year-old man who was 18 at the time, is scheduled for trial later this month.

Each is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder.

Both are linked to Winnipeg street gangs, but police have said the shootings were not gang-related.

A jury of five women and seven men began hearing the prosecution present its case against the 17-year-old on Monday morning.

They were told the two gunmen sprayed more than 19 shots inside the house at about 3:30 a.m. Photographs of the bullet holes in the walls of the home were provided to the jury by Crown prosecutor Dale Schille, who called the shooting an "horrific crime."

The challenge for the Crown will be to prove the accused, who cannot be named under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act was one of the gunmen.

No one at the party could identify the two shooters whose identities were concealed.

The three people wounded at the party are expected to testify during the trial, which is being heard by Justice Colleen Suche and is set for two weeks.