Manslaughter case awaits trial date

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on March 17, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

Lawyers are still trying to find dates to reschedule a trial for a 26-year-old man accused of killing an older man in Fort Macleod last May.
The trial for Cullen Drake Tailfeathers was cancelled earlier this month after an agent for Calgary lawyer Balfour Der explained the week-long trial set for the summer needs to be rescheduled for “personal reasons.”
The Crown and defence hoped to recommend a new trial date when the matter returned to Lethbridge provincial court on Wednesday, but Der’s agent, David Roper, said Der had a conflict with the suggested date.
“I can advise that Mr. Der was seeking to schedule trial dates for this matter, however, the only dates that were offered were in December of 2022, and Mr. Der is unavailable for those dates,” Roper said. He added defence was informed that dates for 2023 are not yet available through the trial co-ordinator, and he suggested the matter be adjourned to sort out the schedule.
The matter returns to court at the end of the month, ostensibly to confirm dates for the trial.
Tailfeathers pleaded not guilty last August to charges of manslaughter, and break and enter to commit an indictable offence. A trial was originally scheduled to run for a week in July.
Linden Blair Grier, 33, of Brocket, Alta., was found dead in a home in Fort Macleod May 24. Police were called to the residence at 2:24 a.m., following a report that a man had been injured. Attempts to save the man’s life were unsuccessful.
Tailfeathers, of Fort Macleod, was arrested three days later.

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