REGINA – The Whitby second-degree murder case will pause until June for further proceedings.
The trial has run for three weeks through March and April, with more than 20 Crown witnesses providing testimony. Chelsea Rae Whitby is accused of the charge in relation to the June 10, 2020 death of her 18-month-old son, Emerson. The original manslaughter charge against Whitby was upgraded to that of second-degree murder back in 2021.
Justice C.L. Dawson met with Crown and defence lawyers - as well as the accused - via teleconference during the morning of April 21. The meeting in Regina King’s Bench Court was to set a date on a decision whether witness testimony entered in a voir dire (trial within a trial) could be ruled admissible, and then used in the trial proper.
Ultimately, Justice Dawson set a date of June 8 for a decision on the use of that information, with trial continuation occurring later in the same month. Those continuation dates are not set in stone, as the lawyers will need time to contemplate what Justice Dawson decides.
It is anticipated the resumption of the trial will take a further two to three days, including closing arguments from the Crown and defence lawyers.
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