The trial of a doctor accused of murdering four people while he was working in Hawkesbury will take place in Ottawa.
The legal team representing Dr. Brian Nadler in the first-degree murder case have convinced the Ontario Superior Court that there is a risk of conflict of interest among jury members if the trial takes place in L’Original as originally planned. Justice Calum MacLeod ruled in favour of a defence request for a change of venue for the case when it goes to trial.
Standard procedure for most criminal court cases is that they are heard and decided on within the jurisdiction where they occurred. The Nadler trial would have taken place at the L’Orignal provincial courthouse because the murder victims were all at the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital (HGH) in neighbouring Hawkesbury.
The trial will take place in Ottawa instead.
Justice MacLeod agreed with the defence counsel argument that the Prescott-Russell region’s smaller population means a smaller jury pool to draw on for the upcoming trial. He noted that there is the potential for possible conflicts of interest among some individuals when the time comes to select a jury.
The justice also agreed that the small courthouse in L’Orignal is not designed to meet the needs of a modern trial of this magnitude. The limited amount of accommodations in the municipality may pose problems for lawyers trying to avoid contact with any witnesses or jury members after-hours during the length of the trial period.
Dr. Nadler was arrested in March 2021 and charged with the first-degree murder of Albert Poidinger, 89, of Pointe-Claire, Québec. Poidinger was a patient at HGH where Dr. Nadler worked. In August 2022 police confirmed three more murder charges against the doctor, resulting from continued investigation of suspicious deaths at the hospital. The alleged victims are Claire Brière, 80, of Rigaud, Québec; Lorraine Lalande, 79, of Hawkesbury; and Judith Lungulescu, 93, of East Hawkesbury Township.
Dr. Nadler’s medical licence has since been revoked. He lives in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, a suburb on Montréal’s West Island district.
