Justice Tracey Nieckarz will hand down her verdict in the second-degree murder trial against Patrick O’Keese for his alleged role in the 2017 death of Brayden Moonias.
THUNDER BAY – The verdict in the second-degree murder trial against Patrick O’Keese for his alleged role in the 2017 death of 18-year-old Brayden Moonias will be handed down early next year.
A date has been set for Feb. 22, 2022 for Justice Tracey Nieckarz to deliver her verdict following the eight-day trial that was held in October.
O’Keese was first charged with second-degree murder in Sept. 2017 following an investigation by the Thunder Bay Police Service into the death of Moonias, whose body was discovered on a beach in the Marina Park area near McVicar Creek on the morning of Aug. 6, 2017.
A post-mortem examination revealed that Moonias’s death was multifactorial and included blunt impact trauma to the head and neck, mechanical airway obstruction, and acute ethanol and cocaine toxicity.
Throughout the course of the trial, the Crown called several witnesses, including police investigators, forensic experts, as well as two individuals who saw O’Keese the day before Moonias’s body was discovered, as well as later that night, where he was described as being agitated and observed with blood on his face.
Defense council David Matthews did not call any evidence but argued that all the evidence presented by the Crown was circumstantial and based on speculation.
O’Keese was also charged with two counts of breaching a recognizance order by being out past curfew and not refraining from purchasing, possessing, or consuming alcohol. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
O’Keese was also charged with aggravated assault from the night of Aug. 5, 2017, which will be heard as a separate charge before the courts.
source tbnewswatch