Krystal Toole elects trial by judge, waives right to preliminary inquiry

Krystal Dawn Toole, who is charged with being an accessory after the fact to the murder of Moncton teen Baylee Wylie by allegedly assisting fugitive Marissa Shephard, will stand trial.

Toole, 32, appeared in Moncton provincial court on Friday and elected to be tried by a Court of Queen's Bench judge without a jury. She also waived her right to a preliminary inquiry.

She will wait to have the charge read in Court of Queen's Bench before entering a plea, defence lawyer Hazen Brien said.

A trial date will be set on June 6. Toole remains in custody.

She is accused of assisting Shephard, 20, who was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for first-degree murder and arson in connection with Wylie's death in December and managed to elude police for about 10 weeks.

The body of Wylie, 18, was found on Dec. 17 in a burned apartment unit he had been sharing with Shephard, according to his mother. RCMP have described Wylie's death as extremely violent.

Toole was arrested on March 1 in the company of Shephard, 20, and Stephen Nagle, 22, in Moncton after police received a tip from the public.

Nagle, who is the father of Shephard's young son, was also charged with being an accessory after the fact for assisting Shephard. He changed his plea to guilty on April 25 and was sentenced to nine months in jail and one year of probation.

Toole's defence lawyer had previously suggested there might be an opportunity to resolve her case.

Devin Morningstar, 18, who is also charged with first-degree murder and arson in connection with Wylie's death, made a brief appearance in Moncton Court of Queen's Bench on Friday afternoon.

He remains in custody and is scheduled to return to court on May 25.

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

Tyler Noel, 18, who is also charged with first-degree murder and arson in connection with Wylie's death, is scheduled to have a four-day preliminary inquiry, starting on Monday.

A preliminary inquiry determines if there's enough evidence to proceed to a trial.

Two other men, accused of assisting Noel to evade police, are also facing charges of being accessories to murder after the fact.

Bradley Bonnell, 20, and Zachary Holden, 19, were arrested on Jan. 9 in the company of Noel, who was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant in Wylie's death.

Bonnell, who has pleaded not guilty to that and other charges, has elected to be tried by judge and jury.

Holden is scheduled to return to court on May 27.