Closing arguments in Welland court: Essex woman hailed as a ‘hero’ and ‘collateral damage’

The closing arguments are wrapping up in Welland during the trial looking into the murder of an Essex woman. CTV Windsor’s Michelle Maluske is on scene.

WARNING: This article contains details that some readers may find disturbing. Reader’s discretion is advised.

Christopher Lucas, 27, of Toronto is on trial for the double shooting of Essex’s Juliana Pannunzio, 20, and Christine Crooks, 18, of Toronto on Jan. 19, 2021.

Defence lawyer John Fitzmaurice took more than six hours to present their closing arguments to the jury of six women and six men on Tuesday.

‘Collateral damage’

“This was an incident involving Ms. Crooks,” Fitzmaurice said, when telling the jury they believe the shooter shot Crooks twice “fatally” in the hallway.

“And then inferentially goes into the living room and shoots Ms. Pannunzio, who, as I see it, is just pure collateral damage in this incident,” Fitzmaurice said.

Both women were killed within eight minutes, after an argument broke out between Lucas and Crooks.

That, the defence and crown agree upon. What they don’t agree upon is who was the shooter.

The defence says it was Trevor Barnett; it was his birthday party that night and the majority of the partygoers were family and friends. He knew Lucas, but Barnett had never met Pannunzio or Crooks.

“(Barnett) knows he can impose his will on all the others to keep quiet, but he has to dispatch Ms. Pannunzio so she can’t snitch on him, so to speak,” Fitzmaurice told the jury.

Barnett was also charged with murder because of the killings, but he “beat the charge”, the jury has learned.

Barnett pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in October 2024 and he’s now on two years’ probation, according to previous reporting by CTV News.

The defence said Barnett was “offered a deal” to testify against Lucas at trial.

“He can’t come (to court) and tell the truth without imperiling himself. If he says that Mr. Lucas is innocent, he (Barnett) has to make up a story like the ‘four men’,” Fitzmaurice told the jury.

Barnett testified that four strange men attended the party to commit the murders. No other partygoers saw the four men.

“Please don’t tag us for the frailties of Mr. Barnett’s evidence,” Fitzmaurice urged the jury.

‘A hero’

The crown started their closing arguments Tuesday afternoon.

The prosecution agrees that Barnett was charged with murder, the charge never proceeded to trial, he pleaded guilty to obstruction and testified at Lucas’ trial.

Assistant Crown Attorney Jody Ostapiw calls Barnett “the puppet master”.

“The crown says he helped Mr. Lucas commit the murders. He coached the cover-up of the murders,” Ostapiw said.

The crown wants the jury to find that Crooks was shot in the finger in the kitchen area.

“It is these first few shots that spurred Juliana into action,” Ostapiw told the jury.

“She was killed because she was the only person in that house willing to call 911 after the first shot. If this story has a hero, it’s Juliana. She is not purely collateral damage.”

Ostapiw believes Crooks was then dragged by Lucas and Barnett towards the bathroom where she was shot twice, more before stumbling to the adjoining bedroom.

The jury heard Pannunzio had her coat on her arm and was carrying two purses.

The crown believes the women were preparing to leave the party for the night, although they had only been there for less than three hours.

Over the 34 days, the jury heard from 28 witnesses, according to Ostapiw, who called nearly a dozen partygoers.

At the start of the trial, Ostapiw said she was “optimistic” the partygoers would be forthcoming about what actually happened.

“That hope was eroded over the course of the civilian testimony,” Ostapiw said, before going through each one, to indicate what the jury could believe and what they should dismiss.

Most of them presented evidence that was either misleading, incorrect, or fabricated lies. Ostapiw kept her most pointed criticism for witness (and co-accused) Heidi Bahler.

Bahler, the jury has learned, went back in the house after the shootings ended to collect her belongings.

The crown also believes she moved a broken bottle of alcohol away from the stairs and threw it into the shower, at the behest of Barnett, to wash away DNA evidence.

Furthermore, Bahler waited more than an hour to call 911 to report the shootings in a call that was full of “lies and mistruths”, Ostapiw said during her opening statement.

The jury has learned, Crooks might have survived if the 911 call had gone through at the time of the first shot.

Bahler didn’t appear to feel any remorse during her testimony at trial about that fact, according to Ostapiw.

“There are limits to the adjectives counsel can use to describe witnesses, but I suspect his honour (Justice Ramsey) will not come down too hard on me for stating the obvious,” Ostapiw said.

“Heidi Bahler is a despicable human being.”

Bahler, as previously reported by CTV News, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and is now on two years’ probation.

Closing arguments will conclude Wednesday morning, then Justice Ramsey will instruct the jury and sequester them until they reach a unanimous verdict.