A cost of second-degree homicide towards Miguel Chacon-Perez in a 2016 London murder was dismissed Tuesday close to the tip of his retrial
Revealed Feb 11, 2025 • 5 minute learn
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Miguel Chacon-Perez pauses outdoors the London courthouse moments after a second-degree homicide cost in a 2016 London murder was withdrawn in courtroom on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. Chacon-Perez was close to the tip of an uncommon retrial for killing Chad Robinson in a melee at a London banquet corridor parking zone when the Crown requested the decide to withdraw the cost. (Jane Sims/The )
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For the primary time since he was charged eight years in the past, Miguel Chacon-Perez walked out of the London courthouse with out an accusation of homicide hanging over him.
After a trial in 2018, a sentencing to life with no likelihood of parole for 10 years, a profitable attraction to Ontario’s highest courtroom and probably the most uncommon retrial procedures ever requested for on the London courthouse, the Crown determined after a overview of the case to withdraw the cost towards Chacon-Perez.
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Assistant Crown legal professional Vanessa Decker invited Superior Courtroom Justice Kelly Tranquilli to dismiss the second-degree homicide cost Tuesday. She agreed.
The case that had lasted greater than eight years was over in a matter of minutes. Chacon-Perez, a Cuban immigrant with a younger household, stood along with his defence attorneys and Tranquilli wished him luck. “I trust we won’t be seeing you again,” she mentioned.
Chacon-Perez, now 35, nodded politely. His household, together with defence lawyer Richard Posner, who had defended him at his first trial, regarded on with smiles and aid.
It was a far totally different response than after Chacon-Perez was convicted by a London jury in December 2018, when Posner known as the choice “a textbook case of a miscarriage of justice” and “unreasonable.”
The household of Chad Robinson, 26, the much-loved and revered plumbing apprentice from Kitchener who was fatally stabbed within the coronary heart throughout a melee within the parking zone of the Imperio banquet corridor on Dec. 18, 2016, didn’t attend the transient listening to.
Chad Robinson, left; Miguel Chacon-Perez
Chacon-Perez, who labored as a flooring subcontractor, has maintained his innocence from the beginning and pointed the finger at a former good friend, Irvine Alex Aparacio-Chicas, who was with him on the Intact Renovations all-trades Christmas occasion as the one that stabbed Robinson within the coronary heart.
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The proof on the first trial was aptly described by the Ontario Courtroom of Attraction in 2022 as “a crazyquilt of snapshots of individual events” by witnesses, a lot of them who admitted they had been intoxicated and gave conflicting testimony of what went on that night time.
What sparked the combat was a remark made by one among Robinson’s buddies who requested Robinson if Chacon-Perez was “the Kijiji man,” a nickname Robinson had used to explain Chacon-Perez promoting a fish tank on-line that had been left behind in a rental unit that was being renovated.
That was an insult to Chacon-Perez who was miffed when he left the occasion with plenty of his buddies, together with Aparacio-Chicas, however then made the fateful determination to return.
There was a combat within the parking zone involving a number of males. Robinson joined in as soon as he noticed his good friend who had requested in regards to the “kijiji man” was within the scuffle.
There have been witnesses who noticed Aparacio-Chicas shirtless and squaring off with Robinson. One witness mentioned they noticed one thing darkish in Chacon-Perez’s waistband, however one other witness didn’t have Chacon-Perez close to Robinson.
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However some witnesses mentioned they noticed Chacon-Perez behind the parking zone by the fence tossing a knife away. Robinson’s DNA was on the tip and Chacon-Perez’s DNA was on the deal with.
On the trial, Chacon-Perez mentioned Aparacio-Chicas had taken the knife from his device field. He picked it up after his good friend had dropped it and tried to eliminate it.
The case was ordered to be re-tried after the Ontario Courtroom of Attraction took situation with Superior Courtroom Justice Michael McArthur’s response to the jury’s request to overview the proof of 4 witnesses whose proof associated to the identification situation. There have been no transcripts and an audio overview would have taken a number of days.
The decide advised the jury to as an alternative overview his directions and the outlines of the problems. A responsible verdict was returned 24 hours later. The attraction courtroom mentioned McArthur ought to have requested the jury to be extra particular and provides a reminder that it might ask extra questions.
A retrial was ordered and it started late final 12 months with Chacon-Perez pleading not responsible once more. However there was an uncommon twist. As a result of a lot time had elapsed, no formal trial could be held.
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No new proof was known as and Tranquilli, who was presiding over the case with out a jury was requested to overview in her chambers the unique audio and transcripts of the prolonged first trial earlier than the Crown and the defence made each written and oral closing submissions.
It was a sign that each side agreed that there might by no means be any higher proof than what was offered on the unique trial.
There have been extra developments earlier than Tuesday’s stunner. The unique Crown was now-Ontario Courtroom Justice Adam Campbell, who was appointed to the bench to serve in Windsor in late December.
The defence’s written submissions had already been despatched to Tranquilli final week and Tuesday had been put aside for the Crown to offer its place. The shock was that after the Crown’s personal overview of the case, the request was for the case to return to an finish with a withdrawal of the cost.
Outdoors of courtroom, Chacon-Perez declined to talk and directed all feedback to return from his defence lawyer Gabriel Gross-Stein, who’s a legislation associate with Posner at Posner Craig Stein in Toronto.
Defence lawyer Gabriel Gross-Stein, left, stands with Miguel Chacon-Perez outdoors the London courthouse moments after a second-degree homicide cost towards Chacon-Perez was withdrawn in courtroom on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. Gross-Stein mentioned he hadn’t anticipated the Crown’s shock determination to ask that the cost be withdrawn. (Jane Sims/The )
“I’m grateful,” Gross-Stein mentioned. “In my view it’s the correct decision. Mr. Chacon-Perez has maintained his innocence this whole time. In my view the original conviction was a miscarriage of justice and I’m glad it’s been corrected now.”
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He mentioned that he hadn’t anticipated the Crown’s determination that he mentioned should have been troublesome.
As for his consumer, “I don’t know if it’s truly hit him yet that he has now been acquitted, been found not guilty. He has maintained his innocence right since Day 1…. I think he’s calm and sober-minded and grateful that things ended up as they should of, finally.”
He mentioned Chacon-Perez has been out of custody on bail, first when he was charged, once more searching for the attraction and once more as soon as the brand new trial was ordered. “Throughout that entire time under strict conditions, no incidents, nothing, not a whiff of a breach of bail. He’s been a totally contributing member of the community and I think everyone expects how that is going to be going forward.”
Gross-Stein added that there have been “a myriad of problems in the case…including the fact that in my view someone else did this.”
“Someone else did this stabbing,” he mentioned. “Of all of the witnesses who were at that party that night, not a single person saw Mr. Chacon-Perez stab the deceased,” he mentioned.
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