Gravelbourg resident Robert Arams will face a judge and jury when he returns to court for his murder trial.
Arams, 75, is accused of murdering Claude Landry and offering an indignity to a body by dragging and burying Landry’s corpse. Landry was last seen in Gravelbourg on July 12, 2018; he was reported missing to RCMP four days later and his body was found on July 23.
A two-day preliminary trial was scheduled to start at Moose Jaw’s Court of Queen’s Bench (CQB) on Aug. 14, where the Crown was to present its most compelling evidence against Arams. It also had to show that there was enough evidence to try this matter in a court trial.
However, defence lawyer Barry Nychuk consented on behalf of Arams to commit his client to stand for second-degree murder in CQB instead of first-degree murder, while the charge of offering an indignity to a body was adjourned to the next Court of Queen’s Bench date.
Arams is currently on a recognizance, where he must abide by court-imposed conditions. If he breaches his recognizance, he could be held in custody until his trial.
The Crown must file an indictment with the Court of Queen’s Bench, which would then lead to a date being set for the trial.
