Helen Saulnier 

Subsequent the breathtaking advancement involving a demand towards a Sudbury female accused of her estranged husband’s murder, CTV Information spoke to the defendant’s law firm at the courthouse Wednesday early morning.

Michael Lacy instructed CTV Information on Tuesday the Crown dropped the first-diploma murder cost versus his customer, Melissa Sheridan, mainly because there was no sensible prospect of obtaining a conviction soon after the primary witness was established to be unreliable.

Sheridan’s estranged spouse, 56-calendar year-previous Brant Burke, was observed shot to dying Oct. 25, 2020, on a path in Level Grondine Reserve, element of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory near Killarney.

She and Burke’s more mature brother, Kerry, were equally billed with first-diploma murder in the scenario in November 2020.

Kerry Burke, who has been in jail because being billed, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Might and is at this time awaiting sentencing.

He was a important witness in the Crown’s case against Sheridan.

“We had been below for the preliminary inquiry for Melissa Sheridan’s scenario and the Crown called seriously the only witness who at any time implicated her in any variety of wrongdoing, Kerry Burke — the man or woman who actually murdered his brother and he was testifying,” Lacy said.

“We started out our cross-examination and it became abundantly apparent that he was not a truthful witness. He was a liar, one thing we have been expressing for the previous 18 months.”

It has been extremely complicated on his consumer given that she was charged, he added.

“Some individuals could imagine you really should be elated when your 1st-diploma murder demand gets withdrawn, but when your situation is ‘I by no means should have been billed in the first location and I have been put via 18 months of misery, 18 months of speculation, 18 months of the public believing that I am responsible of a little something, it truly is not precisely a content working day,'” Lacy said.

“I imply, she is glad the make any difference is over and now she can put this driving her, go on to be the mother to her kids, help them grieve their father in the way she needs to do that.”

Lacy claimed the Crown withdrew the charge since there is no evidence to assist it and it would be highly abusive if the Crown wanted to reinitiate this prosecution.


CTV Northern Ontario requested an job interview with the Crown Attorney’s business but our request was declined.

The Ministry of the Legal professional Common did provide a assertion that go through in portion:

“If the Crown determines at any time that there is no for a longer time a sensible prospect of conviction, or that it is not in the general public curiosity to progress, the Crown is responsibility certain to withdraw the fees.”
