Hale faces first-degree murder charge
Sep 26, 2008 - 12:42 PM
By Jeff Mitchell
LINDSAY -- An Oshawa man accused of murdering his estranged wife remains in custody after a brief court appearance Friday.
Jack Phillip Hale, 56, faces a charge of first-degree murder in the shotgun slaying of Yvonne Leroux, 58, Sept. 18 in a trailer park near Lindsay. Mr. Hale was the target of an intensive police manhunt in the hours after the killing. He was arrested by OPP officers who spotted his car on Hwy. 7 east of Peterborough.
Speaking on Mr. Hale's behalf in a Lindsay courtroom Friday lawyer Tom Balka consented to the retired GM worker's ongoing detention as he awaits disclosure from the Crown. A decision on whether or not Mr. Hale will seek a bail hearing is pending, Mr. Balka said.
If such a hearing commenced it would be the defendant's onus to show a Superior Court judge why he ought to be released while awaiting trial.
"He's having a difficult time," Mr. Balka said outside court.
"It's difficult for everyone. It's a very tragic situation."
Mr. Leroux has been in custody since his arrest late in the afternoon of Sept. 18, several hours after the 7 a.m. shooting near Lindsay. Police quickly identified a witness and throughout the day kept an eye out for Mr. Hale's red Chrysler.
Several people were present when the shooting took place, City of Kawartha Lakes OPP said the day of the incident.
Mr. Hale was stopped and arrested without incident near Havelock, about 75 km from the scene of the shooting.
Officers recovered a gun from Mr. Hale's car during the arrest, police said.
During Friday's appearance Mr. Hale appeared quite different from his first trip to bail court a week earlier, when he was dishevelled and clad in a grey prison jump suit. Friday Mr. Hale walked into the prisoner's box wearing a brown jacket and slacks, with dark-rimmed eyeglasses on his face. He conferred quietly with Mr. Balka and stood in the box, bent at the waist as he strained to hear what was being said.
Mr. Hale, who is also charged with break and enter and using a firearm during the commission of an offence, was ordered to return to court by video Oct. 16.
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