The trial for accused killer Robert Daignault is set to go ahead on Jan. 10, pending a negative test result from a COVID-19 swab he received yesterday.
The accused in the murder of Calgary Uber driver Kasif Harani, whose body was found on a rural road near the Springbank Airport in late 2019, confirmed in a Jan. 7 court appearance that he had received a PCR test after being exposed to the virus at the Calgary Remand Centre.
Based on the remand centre's COVID isolation protocols, Daignault's nine-day first-degree-murder trial did not look like it would proceed for at least another 10 days following his exposure to the virus.
However, the medical officer of health has since indicated the accused can be transported to court alone by the sheriff's office, where he would be required to maintain a distance of two metres from others in the courtroom while also wearing a mask.
In the event Daignault's COVID-19 test returns positive, the trial date will have to be adjusted.
"Monday, if he tests positive, things will change," said presiding Court of Queen's Bench Justice Robert Hall. "But if anybody tests positive within the next two weeks [of trial] we'll have to deal with it as it comes."
According to press releases from the Cochrane RCMP and Alberta Major Crimes Unit, Daignault was one of three accused in the killing of Harani, alongside Trista Tinkler and Andrew Cristal.
RCMP had issued an arrest warrant for then-34-year-old Tinkler and 51-year-old Daignault, warning the public the pair was believed to be armed and dangerous. Police believed they had stolen the victim's vehicle.
The two were arrested on Jan. 1, 2020, but the bronze 2013 Kia Optima wasn't found.
Tinkler pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter in December 2021, while Cristal is slated to start a first-degree murder trial by jury on April 4.
