Trent Butt, who was set to go trial in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in St. John's next week for the first-degree murder of his five-year-old daughter, Quinn, has fired his lawyers.
Jury selection for Butt's trial was scheduled to happen Monday, but the trial is now likely to be postponed to allow Butt to seek new representation.
Defence lawyers Mike King and Bob Simmonds told The Telegram they were fired by Butt after being called to a meeting at Her Majesty's Penitentiary on Wednesday.
King and Simmonds are private lawyers but had been representing Butt through Legal Aid. For the past 10 years, Legal Aid clients facing serious charges like murder had the option of being represented by private lawyers, but the provincial government is moving towards changing the Legal Aid Act to no longer allow this.
That means Butt won't have the option to choose private lawyers this time around.
Sources say Butt wants lawyer Bob Buckingham to represent him. Buckingham is also a private lawyer, but can apply for special funding through the attorney general to represent Legal Aid clients. Rarely successful, that application process involves arguing the client can't get sufficient representation from Legal Aid lawyers. Buckingham would not confirm nor deny he would be representing Butt.
The body of Quinn Butt was found in her father's Carbonear home April 24, 2016, by firefighters who were responding to a fire at the residence. Butt has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and arson in connection with Quinn's death.
The case has sparked outrage across the province and Butt's court appearances have been quite emotionally-charged, with dozens of people packing the courtroom in Quinn's honour and in support of her mother and family.
Jury selection for the trial had been slated to happen at the St. John's Arts and Culture Centre instead of the courthouse, since 1,000 potential jurors were subpoenaed to attend. The jury pool was reportedly larger than usual in an effort to find an unbiased and impartial jury.
Twitter: @tara_bradbury
