A new court date has been set for the case of Albert Giesbrecht, the Burns Lake resident charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Raymond George Bishop.
A judicial interim release hearing (bail hearing) is expected to take place on Nov. 20, 2017 in Smithers Supreme Court.
This case has not moved forward since Giesbrecht’s first court appearance in May. Although he was expected to appear in Smithers Supreme Court on June 19, 2017 for a bail hearing, this court appearance was adjourned.
Dan McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Attorney General, said it’s not uncommon for defence counsels to ask for bail hearings to be adjourned as this allows the defence counsel more time to make a case.
Bail hearing is where a judge decides whether to release the accused person from custody while they wait for their trial or some other result. Although normally the onus is on the Crown to show why someone should be detained, in Giesbrecht’s case the onus is essentially reversed because of the nature of the offence.
“Because he’s been arrested for a first-degree murder offence, the onus is on him to show cause why he should be released,” explained McLaughlin.
The Burns Lake RCMP found Bishop deceased on the Southside on May 18, 2017 after receiving multiple calls from local residents at around 6:30 a.m. North District Major Crime and forensic experts were called to the community to assist the Burns Lake RCMP with this investigation.
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