CLOSING STATEMENTS HEARD

Jury Sent to Deliberate on Fate of a Father After Four Years

Nearly four years of investigation came to a close Tuesday as
prosecution and defence lawyers in the first degree murder trial
stated their final arguments to the jury.

Morris Bodnar is the Saskatoon lawyer defending a fatherf who is
charged with the shooting death of 24-year-old James William Hayward
- - the boyfriend of his client's 16-year-old daughter Jadah Walker.

Bringing the enormity of a case that has gained the attention of
people across Canada to an everyday level, Bodnar said to the four
man, eight woman jury, "You have to be able to go home and say I am
certain I made the right decisions."

Stating the defence of a charge of murder is the most serious offence
in the criminal code, he argued his client is "as meek and as mellow
a person you are going to find.

"You might say he fired that gun six to 10 times but you can fire it
in a matter of seconds."

Bodnar, referring to Jadah Walker who was seated in the courtroom
with her family, said James Hayward came very close to killing her by
injecting her with morphine.

"She was down to 90 some pounds you don't have far to go from there."

Bodnar said the Crown told the jury in his opening remarks the
father's actions were "planned and deliberate" but all the testimony
and facts of the case didn't add up for him.

"If I was planning to kill someone with a gun why would I do it when
other people are around?" queried the Saskatoon defence lawyer. He
qualified this belief by adding the shooting took place at noon and
the father placed the gun and magazines on a weight bench in the
house afterwards rather than getting rid of them.

Bodnar went on to say the father then went to a neighbor's house to
call police, before returning to the scene of the shooting where he
waited for police to arrive.

He also drew attention to testimony of several witnesses that say
they heard a knock before the father entered the home.

"You don't knock if you are going to push your way in," he reasoned,
drawing to question the validity of the information.

Bodnar suggested, while there are many parents who don't care about
their children, they are parents who are concerned about the welfare
of their children.

It was such a concerned father who went to what Bodnar referred to as
a "drug den" up to three times a week, to take his daughter for lunch
in an attempt to convince her to come home. Then one day, "low and
behold this letter arrives."

Referring to a letter written by Jessica Wonitowy, a friend of Jadah
who also frequented Hayward's home, he said the stark words of their
daughter's declining health and weight loss was due to her
"mainlining morphine" was alarming for the parents.

He then reminded the jury the parents tried to access all methods
possible for help after that.

They took the letter to police, a Mental Health Act Warrant was
obtained from a judge and they even convinced Wonitowy to give a
statement to police - all within days of receiving the letter.

After all that effort, including admitting her to the Pine Unit,
Jadah was back in Hayward's house again the day she was released. It
was the point the situation became too much for the father.

"There's no doubt he took a gun and went to the house He did not
have the intention to kill, but to rescue her," and was going to a
place he could "get hurt and hurt bad."

Bodnar asked the jury members if they wanted to send a message to
drug dealers they can "slowly kill your children with drugs like some
kind of cancer."

Referring to dialogue in a movie he once saw about a similar
situation, Bodnar closed, "Maybe it's time we were mad as hell about
drug dealers sticking needles into the arms of our kids."