Portland businessman Everton “Beachy Stout” McDonald and his co-accused Oscar Barnes, who are both accused of killing McDonald’s second wife Tonia, have chosen to be tried by a jury.
The trial is to be held in the Home Circuit Division of the Supreme Court in downtown Kingston and will last for seven days, from September 18 to November 3, 2023.
The decision was announced during the continuing pretrial hearing on Thursday morning.
McDonald was arrested in July 2021 for the murder of his wife Tonia in 2020.
Prosecutors announced on Thursday that the Crown will call 25 witnesses, seven for McDonald, who is represented by three attorneys, and two for Barnes, who has one. Barnes will be called as one of two witnesses in his defense, according to the court.
McDonald was remanded into custody while Barnes’ bail was extended.
Meanwhile, McDonald, who is also accused of the 2009 murder of his first wife Marlene, is scheduled to stand trial in January 2024. However, the type of trial, in that case, has not been disclosed. Following Tonia’s murder, investigators reopened the case in 2020.
