Loretta Saunders murder: trial decision coming next Friday

The case against the couple accused of killing Saint Mary's University student Loretta Saunders is adjourned until next Friday, when the judge will decide if the case should proceed to trial.

The week-long preliminary hearing wrapped up atHalifax provincial court Friday.

Victoria Henneberry, 28, and Blake Leggette, 26, are charged with first-degree murder in the death of Saunders earlier this year.

The court heard from several police and civilian witnesses Thursday and Friday, but theirtestimony is subject to a publication ban.

Preliminary hearings are held to determine if there is enough evidence to proceed to trial, somethingJudge Anne Derrick will decide on Aug. 1 in the case ofHenneberry and Leggette.

Saunders, 26, disappeared from Halifax on Feb. 13. Henneberry and Leggette had been subletting her apartment in Cowie Hill. They were arrested in Ontario with her car five days after she disappeared. Her body was found in a wooded area off the Trans-Canada Highway in New Brunswick on Feb. 26.

The couple's preliminary hearing has seen some dramatic moments requiring heavy security to be brought in, and the pair being brought to the courthouse early, outside court testimony.

On the third day, Saunders's uncle lunged at the co-accused, but family members grabbed him before he reached the two.