Man convicted of murdering a Windsor mom seeks appeal

Autumn Taggart is shown in this handout photo from Windsor Police Service.

Lawyers for Jitesh Bhogal have applied to appeal his first degree murder conviction in the death of a Windsor woman.

Bhogal, 31, was convicted by a jury on Dec. 1, 2021 and sentenced on Jan. 5, 2022 to life in prison, with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Autumn Taggart was killed on June 10, 2018, in the bedroom of her University Avenue apartment.

The jury unanimously supported the crown theory that Bhogal intended to kill Taggart and they further agreed that he sexually assaulted her.

In court documents obtained by CTV News, the defence lawyers have outlined seven grounds for appeal.

(1) The trial judge erred in law by failing to exclude certain D.N.A. evidence and banking information from evidence at trial;

(2) The trial judge erred in law by dismissing the defence application made pursuant to s.276 of the Criminal Code of Canada to introduce certain evidence located on the deceased’s computer;

(3) The trial judge erred in law by failing to properly direct the jury on the essential elements of sexual assault;

(4) The trial judge erred in law by failing to exclude a juror for partiality pursuant to s.638 of the Criminal Code of Canada;

(5) The trial judge erred in law by concluding that the trial judge is required by law to ask potential jurors the s.638 challenge for cause questions.

(6) The trial judge erred in failing to declare a mistrial after the Crown’s closing address;

(7) The trial judge erred in law by failing to conduct a proper s.644 inquiry into juror tainting

The lawyers are asking the Court of Appeal for Ontario to make one of three decisions:

1. grant the appeal, quash the conviction and give Bhogal an acquittal
2. grant the appeal, quash the conviction for first degree murder, and find Bhogal guilty of second degree murder
3. grant the appeal and order a new trial

Crown Attorney Ilana Mizel declined to comment on the notice of appeal.

Defence lawyer Peter Thorning declined to do an interview, but tells CTV News in a statement that every person convicted of a criminal offence in Canada, is entitled to at least one appeal.

“We now have to ‘perfect’ the appeal, which involves ordering, receiving, and reviewing the transcripts of the trial, and drafting our legal argument,” writes Thorning.

He anticipates it could take a few months to get the transcripts and a few months after that to draft their legal argument.

“We hope that our appeal hearing will take place this year,” says Thorning.

Thorning will not comment on how Bhogal is doing in prison.

Taggart’s biological mother, Tammy Spratt tells CTV News she has known about the appeal for some time, understands it’s a normal part of law and says she isn’t worried about the outcome.