Bacon to be tried separately in Surrey Six case

Surrey's Balmoral Tower is where six people were killed in 2007.

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The trial of the Surrey Six case has been split into two, with Jamie Bacon being tried separately.

Two separate indictments were filed in B.C. Supreme Court Thursday, allowing Bacon to be tried separately from Cody Rae Haevischer, Matthew James Johnston and Quang Vinh Thang (Michael) Le.

All of them face charges in connection with the deaths of six people at the Balmoral Tower in Whalley on Oct. 19, 2007.

Police believe four of the victims in the Surrey Six case were gang-related. Two others, 22-year-old Christopher Mohan, a neighbour, and 55-year-old Ed Schellenberg, who was repairing the fireplace, were innocent bystanders.

"Separate trials will enable Mr. Bacon to bring applications in relation to issues involving only Mr. Bacon, including issues like solicitor client privilege, that were raised before the Honourable Mr. Justice McEwan in Mr. Bacon’s civil (habeas corpus) proceeding," B.C. Criminal Justice Branch spokesman Neil MacKenzie said.

Proceeding in this way, he said, will allow the trial of the other three accused to proceed without being affected by issues which only involve Bacon.

MacKenzie said he could not elaborate on the case as it's before the courts.

The indictment against Bacon lists two counts including first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder of Corey Lal.

The indictment against the others alleges they committed the murder of Lal, while Haevischer and Johnston murdered Ryan Bartolomeo, Michael Lal, Edward Narong, Schellenberg and Mohan.

Both indictments also list convicted killers Dennis Karbovanec and Anton Hooites-Meursing as co-conspirators.

In 2009, Karbovanec pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree murder and one count of conspiracy. He is currently serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for 15 years.

@diakiw