The second day of a three-day preliminary hearing into the homicide of Joe Gauthier ran on Tuesday morning.
Family and friends rolled into the B.C. Provincial Court in Victoria shortly after 9 a.m., dressed casually and with tears brimming.
Gauthier was a 35-year-old Victoria man and father of four. He was killed on the early morning of March 10, 2018 outside a house in the 1400-block of Hillside Avenue.
READ MORE: Man found deceased on Hillside Avenue identified online
The defendant, 27-year-old Daniel Forrest Creagh, was arrested in July, but in an October court appearance, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.
On Tuesday morning prosecutor Jeni Gillings and defense attorney Kevin McCullough questioned two witnesses, under the watchful eye of Justice Robert Higinbotham.
Creagh, a large, barrel-chested man with a clean-shaved face and a buzz cut sat in the prisoner’s dock behind a wall of Plexiglas. He wore a red, long-sleeved shirt.
READ MORE: Hillside Avenue death ruled a homicide, police say
A dozen family members and friends of Guathier were in attendance. As Gillings questioned the first witness, several people in the group burst into tears.
Creagh could be seen letting out long breaths and rolling his head back, looking at the ceiling.
Due to a publication ban, details of the preliminary trial cannot be released.
The trial is expected to wrap up on Wednesday.
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