Andre Denny to stand trial in October for Raymond Taavel's death

A man accused in the high-profile murder of a Nova Scotia gay rights activist will stand trial this fall.

Andre Noel Denny is charged with second-degree murder in the April 2012 death of 49-year-old Raymond Taavel.

His six-week trial is scheduled to begin the week of Oct. 19 and continue until the end of the week of Nov. 23.

Two of those weeks will be for a voir dire, where lawyers would argue about the admissibility of some evidence.

Both Crown attorneys and defence lawyers David Mahoney and Robert Greganare are still trying to determine if the case should be heard by judge and jury or judge alone. 

The Membertou man was expected to stand trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in September, but it was delayed when he fired lawyer Don Murray for the second time.

At Thursday's appearance, all sides originally voiced their desire to hold the trial as soon as possible. After consulting with Denny in cells, his legal team then asked for dates in 2016.

After shifting dates around, Justice Gerald Moir settled on the 2015 fall dates.

"Better than later," said prosecutor Darrell Martin.

Denny has been remanded back to the East Coast Forensic Hospital.

"Take care of yourself," Moir said to Denny.

Denny was a patient at the hospital but was AWOL at the time of Taavel’s death.

Taavel died outside Menz Bar on Gottingen Street following an altercation.