Mistrial declared in case of two men charged in fatal shooting in high school

TORONTO, Ont. – The murder trial against two men in the fatal shooting of a Toronto teen allegedly robbed of his gold chain in the hallway of his high school ended in a mistrial Friday.

The jury was in its fourth day of deliberations when it told the judge it could not reach a unanimous verdict in the case.

Jordan Manners, 15, was found in the stairwell of C.W. Jefferys Collegiate, which is located  in the city’s north end on May 23, 2007.

The Grade 9 student’s death, the first fatal shooting inside a Toronto high school, sent shockwaves across Canada’s most populous city. In its wake police officers were posted to high schools, reviews were commissioned to examine school safety and legislation was passed aimed at protecting students.

The men, who cannot be identified because they were under 18 at the time of the death, will likely face a new trial. That decision ultimately lies with the attorney general.

Defence lawyer Donald McLeod said his client is an innocent man who was hoping to go home to his family, but instead remains in jail.

“The reality is that a young boy was shot. He was 15 years old. The answers that the family wants is to be able to get some sort of justice in terms of the people that actually did this,” McLeod said outside court.

“I’m suggesting to you that these aren’t the people.”

Lawyer Lydia Riva, who represented the other accused, said it seemed the jury had reasonable doubt.

“We know they took their time and they tried their best, and this sort of thing happens,” Riva said outside the courthouse.

“It’s a very serious matter and they took it seriously. Unfortunately, we don’t have an answer.”

Manners’ mother left court without commenting.

Two key witnesses, teenaged girls, backed away from statements they had given to police. While one girl told court she couldn’t recall the events, another said her account was based mostly on gossip. The girl had earlier told police that Manners was dragged down the stairs “like a rag doll.”

Crown attorney Tom Lissaman argued in his closing address to the jury that fear “had taken these young girls hostage and made them deny” what they saw.

Justice Ian Nordheimer said the two young witnesses “undermined the process” during the trial and called on the attorney general to investigate. The ministry has said it would not comment while the case was before the court.

Manners, a slight teen and “sweet little boy” according to neighbours, had just celebrated his 15th birthday days before he lay dying at the bottom of a stairwell, a bullet lodged in his body.

Police officers put C.W. Jefferys Collegiate under lock down for hours as they roamed the halls of the school searching for a suspect. Manners had been hit in the chest by a bullet from a .25 calibre gun.

During the trial, witnesses described the harrowing scene of discovering Manners slumped, not in a pool of blood but in his own urine, as he struggled to breathe and tried to speak.

A school secretary dabbed away tears as she told the jury that she cradled the head of the unresponsive teen as emergency officials instructed another school employee to remove the boy’s jacket, only to find the zipper was melted together by the gunshot wound.

Moments before the horrific shooting, witnesses recalled seeing the teen joking and walking with the two accused. It wasn’t unusual for the three to be seen horse-playing around in school – they were friends and played basketball after school.

The Crown argued the men pulled Manners down the stairs in a planned killing. Lissaman alleged one man shot Manners and the other rifled through the pockets of the dying teen. Court also heard one of the young men snatched a chain from around Manners’ neck.

Riva argued the Crown failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, lacking physical evidence such as fingerprints, DNA or gunshot residue.

Although the high school was located in the Jane and Finch area of the city, a neighbourhood notorious for violent crime, educators claimed the school was normally a safe place.

But the shooting rattled parents and teachers, and prompted reaction from politicians and city officials.

More cameras were installed in schools and the Toronto police introduced a program placing uniformed officers in the corridors of some city high schools. Two major reviews focusing on school safety were also launched.

A report by lawyer Julian Falconer, who led a school safety panel shortly after Manners was fatally shot, found more than 200,000 students at public schools contended daily with a “culture of fear.”

After the incident, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty commissioned a report on the rise of youth violence. The report called for $200-million for improved mental-health services, as well as better co-ordination among government ministries. It also recommended collecting race-based statistics and providing anti-racism training among other things.

The Ontario government also passed a Safe Schools Act, requiring all school staff to report serious student incidents to the principal.