Crown says evidence proves Lucas was shooter in Niagara Parkway killings

The Crown finished its closing address Wednesday morning in Welland Superior Court in the trial of Christopher Lucas over the January 19, 2021, double murder at a Niagara Parkway short-term rental, telling jurors the evidence has proven Lucas pulled the trigger and shot 10 bullets from a single gun, killing two young women after a dispute.

Assistant Crown attorney Jody Ostapiw addressed the six man, six woman jury, saying what is not in dispute is that Christopher Lucas’s post-event conduct is indicative of a guilty person.

Judge James Ramsay is expected to deliver instructions to the jury on Thursday, then jury deliberations will begin.

The Niagara Falls Review reported that the court heard Lucas left the area for Ottawa, stopped communicating with his mother, failed to meet his probation officer and missed Toronto court while on bail for unrelated matters, leading to an arrest warrant.

The Crown told jurors 10 bullets were fired from one firearm inside the Niagara Parkway home, rejecting defence claims that witnesses mistook gunfire for a cork popping or breaking glass. Ostapiw said the sound of 10 shots could not be confused with anything else.

According to reporting by the St. Catharines Standard, Ostapiw completed her address, arguing the evidence shows Lucas shot Christine Crooks, 18, of Toronto, and Juliana Pannunzio, 20, of Windsor, after tensions at a birthday party attended by more than a dozen people.

Wiretap evidence played a central role in the Crown’s closing. The Niagara Falls Review reported jurors heard recorded calls in which Lucas worried about a $100,000 Niagara Regional Police reward for information.

In one call heard by the court, he suspected someone at the party was a “rat” and was co-operating with police. During her address Wednesday, Ostapiw told jurors, “Only guilty people worry about rats,” as reported by the Standard.

The Crown said none of the 16 partygoers were fully truthful with police, with testimony marked by dishonesty and selective recollection. No witness testified to seeing the shooter, and none identified who fired the gun.

Ostapiw told jurors Crooks was shot first, including a gunshot wound to her finger in the kitchen area, which prompted Pannunzio to try to call 911. The Crown argued Pannunzio was killed because she was the only person in the house willing to call for help.

The defence completed its closing arguments Tuesday after more than six hours, pointing the finger at Trevor Barnett, 33, of Scarborough, the guest of honour at the birthday party. Defence lawyer John Fitzmaurice told jurors the shootings followed a drunken argument over champagne, the Niagara Falls Review reported.

Fitzmaurice said Crooks drank from a champagne bottle belonging to Barnett, leading to an argument and a shooting. Several witnesses had testified earlier to hearing a cork popping followed by a woman’s voice screaming: “You shot my finger…call 911!”

The defence alleged Barnett shot Crooks in the hallway and bathroom, then shot Pannunzio in the living room.

Fitzmaurice described Pannunzio as “pure collateral damage,” a characterization the Crown strongly rejected, according to the Niagara Falls Review.

While the motive behind Crooks’ death is unclear, Ostapiw said the same cannot be said for Pannunzio. “She was the only person in that house willing to call 911. If this story has a hero, it’s Juliana. She is not merely collateral damage. She was gunned down with her cellphone at her feet.”

Fitzmaurice also highlighted forensic evidence, telling jurors Crooks’s DNA was found on the mouth of a champagne bottle and her blood on top of it in the ensuite bedroom. He said a droplet of Crooks’s blood was also found on Barnett’s running shoes, which matched a bloody tread mark in the kitchen.

Additionally, Barnett also ditched the clothes he was wearing and the car he was driving that night. Fitzmaurice added that Crooks did not know Barnett, only Lucas and Pannunzio.

“Trevor Barnett and this whole crowd left the scene, didn’t call 911, left Ms. Crooks and Ms. Pannunzio dead or dying and acted disgracefully and despicably,” Fitzmaurice told the jury, as per CTV News.

Barnett was originally charged with murder, but those charges were dropped after a preliminary hearing. Barnett pleaded guilty in October 2024 to obstruction of justice and was sentenced to time served, followed by two years of probation.

The Crown has argued Barnett acted as a helper after the fact, not the shooter. Ostapiw described him as a “puppet master” who helped coach a coverup.

Lucas, 27, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and did not testify at trial. The nine-week trial heard from 28 witnesses and included extensive forensic, DNA and wiretap evidence, according to multiple outlets.

Justice Ramsay is expected to instruct the jury on Thursday before deliberations begin. The jury will be sequestered until it reaches a unanimous verdict.

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