TORONTO — In a late Tuesday afternoon decision by the Ontario Court of Appeals, Kent Squire-Hill will get a new trial.
Squire-Hill was charged and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years, for the second-degree murder of his 4-months pregnant ex-girlfriend at the time, Tashina General.
General went missing in January of 2008 sparking several ground and air searches conducted by OPP, Six Nations Police K-9 Units and community members but to no avail. Squire-Hill was attending University in the US when she went missing, but was home at the time of her death. For that reason, the investigation involved the help of American police as well.
General’s remains were finally found in April of 2008 in a shallow grave near his home on Chiefswood Road. She had been strangled, killing the fetus as well.
Squire-Hill was soon arrested in a North Bay hotel and brought back to Six Nations to await trial. He was sentenced in 2011, however the conviction had been appealed.
His argument was that the trial judge had erred at the time in instructing the jury on the definition of intent and the defense of provocation. He also argued that the Crown attorneys had improperly cross-examined him on his statement to police.
The Ontario Court of Appeals ruled that there was no merit in the cross-examination argument, however they did find merit in his other points of appeal and awarded a new trial, date to be set.
