On Monday in Windsor, Glen Mayer’s defence asked for a judicial inquiry after a juror’s letter. Justice J. Ross Macfarlane dismissed the request. The June verdict stands. Dump CBC.

The jury had found Mayer guilty of first-degree murder. The sentence is life, with no parole for 25 years. Tony Bechara was shot in his home on 20 January 2024. Mayer turned himself in to LaSalle police. A jury conviction, not a case reopened on Monday.

The letter, received on 26 August at the South West Detention Centre, asked for a meeting and did not say the writer was a juror. Lawyer Julianna Greenspan: an unusual dynamic; a fear that the juror wants to share information from outside the courtroom. An argument, not a finding. The juror, in an email to the defence: no details beyond what he heard at trial; he still wants a private meeting, without lawyers.

Macfarlane: the material does not give a credible basis that the jury was exposed to outside evidence. He asked why the letter came so late before the court. The trial ended on 26 June. Dismissing the request does not vacate the verdict. The Windsor Star: sentencing followed the dismissal.

The Criminal Code of Canada makes it a summary offence if a juror discloses what was not said in open court. Greenspan cited the text. Nobody was charged under that section on Monday.

Greenspan said she would file an appeal within 30 days. An intention, not a file lodged. Dump CBC. The rewrite rests on CBC and the Windsor Star.

Image: the police station and Ontario Court of Justice, Windsor, 31 May 2025, Crisco 1492, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The provincial court, not Monday’s Superior Court room.

Sources consulted: Juror asked to meet with convicted murderer: Windsor court — Windsor Star.