New Brunswick

Marissa Shephard's plea on assault charge, postponed a second time

A plea by accused murderer Marissa Shephard on an assault charge was postponed again on Monday morning after the defence asked for more time to review the Crown's evidence.

Shephard, 21, was expected to enter a plea on Monday morning on a charge of assaulting a jail guard

Marissa Shephard, 21, of Moncton, is in custody awaiting a preliminary inquiry on charges of first-degree murder and arson in connection with the death of Baylee Wylie, 18, last December. (RCMP)

A plea by accused murderer Marissa Shephard on an assault charge was postponed yet again on Monday morning.

The 21-year-old is accused of assaulting a correctional officer at the New Brunswick Women's Correctional Centre in Miramichi on July 28. 

She was expected to enter a plea Monday in Miramichi provincial court but defence lawyer Simon Wood asked for more time to go over the Crown's evidence in the case.

Shephard is expected to appear in court Feb. 20 to enter a plea and choose a mode of trial. 

She has been in custody since March 1, waiting for a preliminary inquiry on charges of first-degree murder and arson in connection with the death of Moncton teen Baylee Wylie last winter.

That hearing starts on May 1.

The body of Wylie, 18, was found in a burned-out triplex on Sumac Street in Moncton on Dec. 17, 2015. He had been bound in plastic wrap, severely beaten while tied to a chair, and stabbed up to 200 times.

Devin Morningstar, 19, was found guilty of first-degree murder and arson in Wylie's death last month after a jury deliberated for 21 hours over three days. 

Shephard's co-accused Tyler Noel is to be tried on charges of first-degree murder and arson in October 2017.

Shephard was arrested in Moncton on a Canada-wide warrant after she had managed to elude police for 10 weeks.