Michael Ball asks judge to order taxpayers to pay for his second murder trial
Posted Dec 1, 2016 02:01:36 PM.
Last Updated Dec 1, 2016 02:03:32 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A Kitchener man is asking a judge to order taxpayers to pay for his defence for his second murder trial.
Michael Ball is accused of murdering his former girlfriend Erin Howlett — whose body was found in a duffel bag in the Grand River in July of 2013.
Ball was found guilty of committing an indignity to her dead body, but a mistrial was declared after the jury failed to reach a verdict for the charge of first-degree murder.
The 25-year-old said outside court yesterday his family paid for his first trial and do not have the money to pay for his second one.
He argued in court that his constitutional rights may be denied if the public does not pay for his defence.
