Charges in Gatineau triple killing could be stayed over trial delay

The lawyer for a man facing three counts of first-degree murder wants the charges stayed because it's taken nearly five years to get to trial.

Shakti Ramsurrun, 33, is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, 21-year-old Anne-Catherine Powers,her mother, 63-year-old Louise LeBoeuf,and LeBoeuf's partner, 58-year-old Claude Lvesque,at a home inAylmer, Que., in May 2012.

Thetrial was expected to beginin early April 2017, nearly five years after the charges against Ramsurrun were first laid.

But a landmarkSupreme Court of Canada ruling known as the Jordan decisionrecently set new rulesfor an accused's rightto be tried within a reasonable time frame, and Ramsurrun'sdefence lawyerhas filed a motion to stay the charges based on the ruling.

Trial delays of more than30 months inSuperior Court, or 18 months in provincial courts, are now "presumptively unreasonable" and violate the accused's charter rightto be tried within a reasonable time, according to the Jordan decision, which came down in July.

If the Supreme Court's new timeframes are missed, the onus is on the Crown to arguethe delays were caused by exceptional circumstances that were either reasonably unforeseen or beyond the Crown's control such asa medical or family emergency.

In this case, defence lawyerRichard Dubsaid limitedresources and court room availability in the Gatineaucourthouse are to blame. They had to wait about 10 months for a preliminary inquiry, and in 2015 a trial date was set for 2017,Dub said.

The motion will be heard Feb. 22.