Marissa Shephard preliminary hearing set for May 2017

Marissa​ Shephard, the Moncton woman accused of murdering 18-year-old Baylee Wylie in December and setting a residence on fire, will face a preliminary inquiry starting May 1, 2017.

It's expected to last a month.

The inquiry will determine if there's enough evidence for Shephard, 20, to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder and arson in connection with Wylie's death.

Shephard made an appearance in Moncton court on Friday, in front of Judge Irwin Lampert.  She was wearing a blue sweater, grey hair band, pink shirt and white pants. She looked around the court several times.

Crown prosecutor Annie St. Jacques asked Shephard to correctly spell her name, which she did loudly from the prisoner's dock.

Her defence lawyer, Gilles Lemieux, said his client has elected a trial by judge and jury for both the murder and arson charges.

• Marissa Shephard found fit to stand trial on murder, arson charges
• Tyler Noel will stand trial for murder of Baylee Wylie of Moncton

Speaking to reporters after the appearance, Lemieux explained the lengthy amount of time set aside for the preliminary hearing.

"We are not prepared to concede anything at this point, so the Crown will probably need a lot more time and there's a lot of evidence," said Lemieux. "I can tell you right now that the disclosure at this point is still not complete, there's still a lot of physical evidence that is yet to come, and I don't know how much of it will impact our situation."

Lemieux said the main reason for the long wait until Shephard's preliminary hearing, in spring of 2017, is due to the Crown having three different trials to prepare for involving the same victim, Wylie, with all the different defendants.

He said given that, a reasonable estimate for the date of Shephard's eventual trial would be the fall of 2017.

With that long a wait, he was asked about his client's state of mind.

"How do you describe somebody who's facing the possibility of spending the better part of her adult life behind bars?" said Lemieux. "She's not happy about it and she's very concerned but very anxious to have her day in court and to bring out the true facts in the situation."

Still in custody

Friday was Shephard's first time back in court since April, when she was deemed fit to stand trial, following a 30-day psychiatric assessment. She remains in custody.

Shephard was arrested in Moncton on March 1 after she managed to elude police for 10 weeks. A Canada-wide warrant had been issued for her arrest.

Wylie's body was found in a burned unit of a Moncton triplex on Sumac Street on Dec. 17. RCMP have described his death as being extremely violent, but no details have been released.

Wylie had been living with Shephard in the weeks before his death, his mother has said.

Shephard is one of seven people charged in connection with the teen's death.

Tyler Noel, 19, and Devin Morningstar, 18, are also charged with first-degree murder and arson.

Noel, who was also wanted on a Canada-wide warrant and was arrested on Jan. 9, had his preliminary inquiry last month. But the hearing ended abruptly when his defence lawyer announced he had no issue with the matter being sent to trial.

There is a publication ban on the evidence presented during the hearing. Wylie's mother had rushed out of the courtroom in tears.

Noel is scheduled to return to court on July 4 to set a trial date.

Morningstar waived his right to a preliminary inquiry. His trial is scheduled to start on Oct. 18. Eight weeks have been set aside.

A man who was arrested with Shephard, Stephen Nagle, 22, was charged with being an accessory after the fact to the murder of Wylie by helping her to evade police.

Nagle, who is the father of Shephard's young son, changed his plea to guilty, and was sentenced to nine months in jail and one year of probation.

A woman who was with them, Krystal Dawn Toole, 32, is also accused of helping Shephard to evade police, and is charged with being an accessory to murder after the fact.

Toole has been ordered to stand trial, with a trial date scheduled to be set on June 6.

Meanwhile, two men who were arrested with Noel, Bradley Bonnell, 20, and Zachary Holden, 19, are accused of helping him to evade police.

Bonnell and Holden are both charged with being accessories to murder after the fact, as well as other charges.

Bonnell is scheduled to return to court on June 9 to set a trial date on some charges and to enter pleas on others.

Holden is due back in court on June 6.