The family of a man shot to death on Craigmillar Avenue in St. John’s four years ago is demanding justice for him and closure for them.
Forty-seven-year-old Jamie Coady was gunned down early on the morning of July 5, 2020, outside the home of Kurt Churchill.
Churchill, now 47 himself, was arrested a year later in Toronto and charged with Coady’s murder.
But that charge was stayed two weeks ago when a judge ruled it took too long for the trial to start because of delays caused by police and the Crown.
And while that was enough to end the case right there, it so far leaves the family in emotional limbo, with the 30-day clock ticking for an appeal.
Coady’s sister Eileen Joyce says he may not have been a saint, but didn’t deserve to go like that.
“I know my brother was probably not innocent and everything. He was a good guy who definitely did not choose the right profession, you know what I mean?” she said. “But nobody deserves to be shot down in the middle of the street. Those neigbours did not deserve to be terrified.”
Both Coady and Churchill knew each other, having beaten previous drug charges in separate police operations.
Ironically, the charges were dropped because it took too long for their trials to start.