Trio charged in Moncton homicide make court appearance

Trio charged with murder appear in court The trio charged with second-degree murder in relation to the death of Kyla LaPointe appeared in court in Moncton Wednesday.

Emotions were running high inside a Moncton court room early Wednesday afternoon.

Dozens of friends and family of Kyla Cindy LaPointe were in attendance to see the two men and one woman charged with her murder make their second court appearance.

LaPointe was stabbed to death on Belleview Avenue in Moncton on July 11.

The accused, 38 year-old Megan Marten, 28 year-old Dylan Alexander Jackson and 49 year-old Dana Livingston Mundell have all been charged with second-degree murder.

Before they were brought into the courtroom, Judge Suzanne Bernard gave instructions to LaPointe's family and friends.

She acknowledged it was a "difficult" situation and emotions were running high, but she warned against any outbursts.

"Anyone disrupting court will be escorted out," said Bernard.

She also asked for quiet and for all cell phones to be turned off.

When the trio appeared in the prisoner's dock, a few of LaPointe's supporters gasped and sobbed.

Judge Bernard was informed all three have retained counsel, but haven't had sufficient time to speak to their lawyers.

Jackson, by far the most vocal of the three accused, asked if all three could be put in the same room to discuss the case.

He argued it was unfair that they were all jointly charged, but couldn't speak to each other.

Judge Bernard denied that request.

He then asked if their next appearance could be by video.

Judge Bernard initially denied that request too, saying all three co-accused could not appear via a video link.

Marten then asked if she could make a video appearance alone and Bernard granted that request.

Jackson then made another request, asking for a 30 day psychological evaluation.

"I feel like it would be relevant to the defence," said Jackson.

Judge Bernard denied that request as well, saying there wasn't sufficient grounds for a psychological evaluation.

She adjourned the case until July 28 at 11 a.m. so the three could speak to their lawyers.

As LaPointe's family and friends began to leave the court room, a man cursed at the three in the prisoner's dock.

When they exited the building, LaPointe's supporters denied reporter's requests for interviews, saying it is too raw and emotional to talk about at the moment.

The Codiac Regional RCMP responded to a disturbance call at 2:45 a.m. on Belleview Avenue just south of Mountain Road in Moncton’s east end on July 11

When they arrived they discovered LaPointe in the street who had been stabbed multiple times.

The 32-year-old later died in hospital.

Police stopped a vehicle in the area shortly after discovering LaPointe and arrested Jackson, Mundell and Marten.

All three appeared in Moncton Provincial Court later that day and were charged with second-degree murder.

In an interview with CTV News last week, the victim's sister, Jessica LaPointe, said Kyla was a loving and caring person who was beautiful on the inside and out.

Jessica was too upset to do an interview after Wednesday's court appearance.

Kyla LaPointe had four daughters and two siblings.

Her funeral service will take place on Thursday in Bathurst.