A man accused of killing another man in a rural Manitoba village in 2021 pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder on Monday, just before jury selection in what’s expected to be a roughly month-long trial in Winnipeg.
Eric Wildman is alleged to have planned to kill Clifford Joseph before taking Joseph’s life “by striking him with a motor vehicle and shooting him with a gun,” Court of King’s Bench Justice Richard Saull told prospective jurors, before the group that will ultimately decide the case was selected.
Alternatively, prosecutors are arguing Wildman killed Joseph while forcibly confining him, Saull said — another route to a conviction for first-degree murder.
Wildman is alleged to have killed Joseph on or around June 7, 2021, in or near the village of Stead, Man., court heard. He sat wearing a grey suit in the accused’s box in court as jurors were chosen to hear his case.
Justice Saull also told jurors that while it’s the second trial for Wildman related to Joseph’s death after his first one ended in a mistrial, they should “take nothing from the fact that there was a previous trial.”
“No verdict was rendered,” Saull said. “The trial was not completed.”
A jury of 14 people plus two alternates was selected by early afternoon Monday, after being asked questions including whether they’d heard anything about Wildman’s case or helped with the search for Joseph.
The trial is expected to begin Monday afternoon. It’s scheduled for five weeks, and is expected to continue until Feb. 14.