A preliminary inquiry into the murder trial in the death of a 13-year-old Quebec girl has been postponed.
Oceane Boyer was found dead in the town of Brownsburg-Chatham, not far from her home in the Laurentians town of Lachute. The girl was found partially naked, killed with a blunt object.
A close friend of the family, 51-year-old Francois Senecal, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
Senecal was set to appear in court Monday to set a date for his preliminary inquiry, a step to determine if there is enough evidence to take the case to trial.
"We postponed the case to the 26th of September and the defence will decide if there's a preliminary inquiry," said Crown prosecutor Andreane Marion at the Saint-Jerome courthouse Monday.
The inquiry, if it does take place, will only occur sometime next year.
Normally the Crown would push to bring the case in front of a jury to respect a 30-month maximum delay imposed by the Supreme Court.
With only a handful of trials held during the COVID-19 pandemic, however, all other hearings have been postponed, making it more difficult to reschedule pending cases and still respect legal limits.
The delay could open a new line of defence for some, but the prosecution said at this time it is not concern for the Senecal case.
