'I hope you get the justice you deserve': Two Scarborough residents plead guilty to obstruction of justice in murder of Essex woman

Juliana Pannunzio, 20, was killed on Jan. 19, 2021, during a house party in Fort Erie, Ontario.

Christine Crooks, 18, of Toronto was also shot and killed.

New details revealed

At a plea and sentencing hearing Thursday morning in Welland Superior Court, Heidi Bahler, now 32, pleaded guilty to a single charge of obstruction of justice.

“I am not the same person I was after walking into that house,” Bahler wrote to the court.

“That night has impacted my life, and my family’s life, significantly.”

In an agreed statement of facts, court learned Bahler was throwing a birthday party for her friend, Trevor Barnett, that night. Court learned there were approximately 16 people at the party, including Pannunzio and Crooks.

Bahler had never met Pannunzio or Crooks until that night.

Toronto resident Christine Crooks (L) and Windsor resident Juliana Pannunzio (R) were killed in the shooting.

“We played the game ‘Never Have I Ever’ and other drinking games,” Bahler explained to the court for the first time.

“We all got along, and we were really enjoying our time and we were laughing.”

“I don’t know what lead up to the events of this disgusting crime,” she wrote, saying if she had known Pannunzio and Crooks were uncomfortable or scared, she would have done something.

Bahler said she was outside the home – waiting for a food delivery -- when she heard gunshots inside just before 3 a.m.

Despite hearing the shots, Bahler waited for her food before going back inside.

“Heidi Bahler entered the house. She remained in the house for several minutes. She saw the deceased bodies of Miss Crooks and Miss Pannunzio,” the Crown Attorney explained.

The prosecutors said Bahler collected her things from the home, repeatedly talked to Barnett and another friend on phone.

They said she “eventually” called 911, more than an hour later, to report the double shooting, during which she “intentionally provided false information about the shooting”, according to the Crown.

Bahler also left the scene and refused to return, despite a request from Niagara Police detectives to give a statement.

When investigators went to her home the next day, she told authorities she didn’t know anyone at the house party except for one friend not involved in the case.

“She claims she panicked and not knowing what to do, she left,” the Crown read.

Through police wire taps of her phone, court learned Bahler and Barnett communicated frequently in the weeks following the murder, colluding with each other about their “stories”.

“When it comes to the cops, just wait until I talk to my lawyer,” Barnett told Bahler.

“And then after that we can both have a synchronized perfect, where it just adds up perfectly and then we’re just blessed after that,” the Crown read Thursday.

In her statement to court Thursday, Bahler never addressed her actions in misleading investigators, but she did offer her remorse.

“There is a lot I would like to speak on but ultimately, I know nothing compares to the death of a child,” Bahler’s lawyer read.

“There’s no words I can say to take away that pain you felt and always will feel. I am sorry. I am sorry for your losses, and I hope you get the justice you deserve.”

Barnett pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice because he “counselled others to provide untruthful information to police”, according to Crown Attorney Jody Ostapiw, who referred to him as the “puppet master”.

Court also heard; blood investigators believed to be from Christine Crooks was identified on the shoes authorities believe Barnett was wearing the night of the shooting.

The Crown and the judge both noted the obstruction by Bahler and Barnett “weighed heavily” on the victims’ families as they waited nearly eight months for an arrest in the case.

Victim Impact Statements

Five members of the Pannunzio family offered the court statements on the loss of Juliana, the impact her murder has had on them, and many spoke directly to Bahler and Barnett.

“Where is the ‘girl code’?” Juliana’s ‘bonus mom’, Shellie Pannunzio, asked Bahler in court through tears.

“I understand that you may not have known our daughter before this fateful night, but regardless, how do you not feel a sense of duty to tell the truth for another female that was been wronged?”

Lisa Mulcaster (left) and Shellie Pannunzio (right) continue to mourn the loss of their daughter Juliana, killed in January 2021. Pictured in Essex, Ont. on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023. (Michelle Maluske/CTV News Windsor)

“It is inconceivable that anyone would calmly collect their belongings at the scene of a double murder,” Juliana’s stepfather, Chris Mulcaster, said to the court.

“Witnesses, including those who saw the victims lying wounded and bleeding, have lied to police and tampered with evidence. This suggests a level of complicity that is incomprehensible.”

“Heidi Bahler, I am angry with you,” Juliana’s father, Mark Pannunzio, said in court.

“I don’t understand how you live with yourself, knowing that you have intentionally gone out of your way to prevent justice for my daughter. What did she ever do to you to deserve such disrespect and disregard?”

“You should feel shame. Do I believe you should receive a lenient sentence? No, I do not and not just because I’m her mother,” Juliana’s mom, Lisa Mulcaster, said.

“But because your continued behaviour and refusal to cooperate does not convince me that you are reformed. I fear you will continue to live the life that has gotten you here in the first place.”

Most emotional of all the statements came from Pannunzio’s younger brother, who was only 11 at the time of the murders.

“I’m often afraid. I never worried about safety before but if my sister can be shot and killed, how can I ever feel protected again?” the young man said.

“I still live with that fear that the people who were involved in Juliana’s death will find where we live and want to hurt us too. Hurt us more.”

When given his chance to speak to the judge late Thursday, Barnett chose to speak directly to the victims’ families.

While not admitting to the reasons why he has misled authorities, he did offer an apology.

“I made their suffering much worse,” Barnett said. “I can’t imagine the pain you’ve been going through over the course of this case.”

Barnett’s lawyer said his client didn’t lie to protect the shooter; he lied because he feared he would be charged with the murders.

Crooks family statements

Two statements were presented to the court on behalf of the family of Christine Crooks: her grandmother and her father.

The grandmother’s statement was not read into the record at her request; the father’s was read by the crown attorney.

Crooks’ father read his statement and spoke of the pain of not having custody of his daughter.

“As a father, I tried to protect her and give her a stable home to be raised in,” he wrote, telling the court he lost access to Crooks at a young age and made “several attempts” over the years to have a relationship.

“I never got to say my goodbyes. It hurts me so much that I could not protect her,” the father told the court.

Judge's sentencing

In accepting both joint submissions presented by the defence lawyers and the Crown, Justice Paul Sweeny acknowledged that no sentence could help ease the pain and suffering of the Pannunzio and Crooks families.

Trauma he described as “incomprehensible”.

Justice Sweeny also agreed with a crown request to have Bahler submit a DNA sample for the criminal database. The defence objected, because obstruction of justice is not a crime which typically calls for the measure.

The judge noted, however, Bahler’s lack of regard for authority as the reason for ordering her to submit a sample. Barnett’s DNA is already on file as he had a previous criminal record.

The court learned Thursday that Barnett, now 32, has become a father since his arrest in 2021.

“You’re a father now,” Justice Sweeny said to him. “Maybe one day you will take into consideration their (the Pannunzio and Crooks families) pain and do the right thing. Only time will tell.”

At the conclusion of both matters Thursday, a charge of accessory after the fact was withdrawn against Bahler.

Barnett was charged by police with murder, but after a preliminary hearing, he was ordered to stand trial on two counts of accessory after the fact.

Because he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, the accessory charges were withdrawn Thursday.

Bahler and Barnett were sentenced to time already served and are now on two years probation.

They cannot communicate with each other or the third co-accused, Christopher Lucas.

He will stand trial for murder in October 2025.