Sources: Dr. Brian Nadler expected to be acquitted of first-degree murder charges next week

Dr. Brian Nadler, 35, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder in connection with deaths at the hospital in Hawkesbury, Ont.

OTTAWA — A major development in the upcoming trial of an eastern Ontario doctor who’s facing four first-degree murder charges connected to the deaths of four seniors at the Hawkesbury hospital. Sources tell CTV News that Brian Nadler is expected to be acquitted next week.

In March 2021, Nadler was initially charged after OPP were called to Hawkesbury and District General Hospital to investigate the death of 89-year-old Albert Poindinger, of Pointe-Claire, Que. Nadler was a doctor at the hospital at the time.

A year later, in August 2022, the OPP charged Nadler with three additional counts of first-degree murder. Those charges stemmed from the deaths of Claire Briere, 80, of Rigaud, Que.; Lorraine Lalande, 79, of Hawkesbury, Ont.; and Judith Lungulescu, 93, of East Hawkesbury Township, Ont. At the time, the hospital said all of the victims were patients under the care of Nadler.

On Friday, sources told CTV News that the Crown attorney in the case is not planning to call any evidence when the trial begins on Tuesday.

Nadler has maintained his innocence, with his lawyers claiming in 2022 that all four of the victims had died of Covid-19. Nadler has been out on bail for the last three years under several conditions, including a ban on practicing medicine.