Defence concludes closing summations in Windsor murder trial

File photo of the Superior Court of Justice in Windsor, Ont., Nov.19, 2013. (Melanie Borrelli / CTV Windsor)

The defence has completed its closing summations in an ongoing Windsor murder trial involving the shooting death of 20-year-old Madisen Gingras in April of 2020.

The case, which has been before a jury since February, features three Kitchener men, Tameko Vilneus, 28, Kyle Hanna, 29, and Keermaro Rolle, 26. Each defendant is charged with first-degree and attempted murder in the April 1, 2020, shooting.

Each defendant is represented by a different lawyer and while they’re all facing the same charges, the verdicts in the case could possibly be different for each of them.

The three Kitchener men were drug suppliers to Jacob Reaume, a local dealer of crystal meth and fentanyl. Gingras was dating Reaume when she was fatally shot in the back of the head in Reaume’s vehicle on Northwood Drive in South Windsor.

On Friday, The jury heard closing summations from Frank Retar who is representing Rolle. The day prior, two defence lawyers representing Vilneus and Hanna wrapped up their summations.

In his statements, Retar reminded the jury of its need to judge the case on the strength of the facts.

Picking up where the other defence lawyers left off, Retar called into question the reliability and credibility of the crown’s key witness, Jacob Reaume.

When offering his testimony a number of months ago, Reaume alleged there was a heated interaction at a Huron Church motel, involving him and Gingras and the three accused.

During that interaction, Reaume alleges he was choked, zip-tied and threatened with a gun by the accused in a game of Russian roulette.

He then alleged he and Gingras were directed to go to his car and drive, with Rolle and Vilneus getting into the back seat.

During testimony, Reaume pointed at Rolle as the person who shot Madisen in the back of the head and him in the arm.

But in his summation Friday, Retar told the jury: “Just because they say it happened is not necessarily the way it happened.”

“You have to scrutinize that evidence with caution.”

Retar told the jury to look instead at the physical evidence in the case, pointing to the absence of Rolle and Vilneus’ DNA in the back-seat of the car.

Retar said the science should “leave them with reasonable doubt,” that they should “take comfort in the science.”

Retar’s closing summation lasted the entire day, where he pointed to a number of other inconsistencies between the physical evidence and Reaume’s testimony.

Throughout his remarks, Retar continued to go after Jacob Reaume’s credibility, suggesting he misled police and lied under oath numerous times, calling his evidence “dangerous.”

“He completely controlled and directed the investigation of the Windsor Police,” said Retar. “And in fact, it’s my respectful submission that the evidence of Jacob Reaume was an insult to the fact-finding process.”

The crown will deliver its closing summation on Monday and after that, the jury will receive final instructions from Justice Maria Carrocia and be charged and sequestered until they reach a verdict.