Murder trial begins in St. Catharines

[projekktor id=’27844′]

According to the crown it was jealously that drove Jeremy Gough to kill his girlfriend Jessica Scanlon two years ago. The 29 year old mother of two was found lying in a pool of blood in her St.Catharines home on February 2015. She had been stabbed 24 times in the back. Police arrested her boyfriend and the father of her two children Jeremy Gough the next month.

The twelve person jury heard the two had a rocky relationship leading up to Scanlon’s murder. According to the crown, Scanlon called off the relationship just weeks before her murder and Gough was asked to move out.

In its opening remarks the crown says Scanlon was starting to see someone new, a friend of Gough’s and that made him jealous.

It’s alleged that on the day of the murder Gough waited for Scanlon to drop the kids off at school before entering the house. When she came back she was killed.

The crowns first witness was Melanie Scanlon, Jessica’s older sister. The jury heard that both the victim and the accused confided in Melanie about their up and down relationship. The crown examined text and Facebook messages between Melanie and Gough.

Before today’s trial Gough had pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but the crown’s office refused to accept the lesser offence.

Manslaughter is defined as a homicide committed without intent where as first degree murder is premeditated and which carries an automatic life sentence.

The trial is expected to last 4 weeks.