Stephen Johnson, accused in Kelsey Felker murder, wants lesser charge

Kelsey Felker, whose torso was discovered in a garbage bin outside a Kitchener apartment building on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013, is seen at age 15. (Courtesy Waterloo Regional Police)

An attempt to lessen the charge against accused murderer Stephen Johnson was put off Wednesday, as the parties involved wait for a Supreme Court decision in a separate case.

Johnson is charged with first-degree murder and committing an indignity to a dead body in connection with the death of Kelsey Felker in 2013.

Felker’s torso was found in a garbage bin outside the Frederick Street apartment building where Johnson lived, sparking a police search that discovered other body parts at two nearby parks.

His case remains at a pretrial stage.

Details of that hearing are covered by a publication ban, although defence lawyer Craig Parry told CTV News it has included legal arguments over “what facts and what legal principles we’ll be permitted to use.”

Some of the decisions made in the Johnson case hinge on a precedent set elsewhere in the Canadian legal system, Parry said – in a case which has been appealed to Canada’s top court.

“The appeal on that case will have a big impact on any hearing in this case,” Parry said.

“It’s potentially a ground-breaking decision.”

The case returns to court in July.

“The hope is that the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on the other case … will be out by then,” Parry said.