Woman pleads not guilty of killing Wolseley neighbour during preliminary hearing

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This article was published 13/03/2018 (2382 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A woman accused of killing her Wolseley neighbour last spring has pleaded not guilty, as the murder charge against her is tested in court.

Brenda Lee Schuff began her preliminary inquiry in front of a full courtroom Wednesday, as her defence lawyer, Matthew Gould, indicated she would plead not guilty to second-degree murder in the April 2017 death of 54-year-old Judy Kenny.

The provincial court hearing is meant to determine whether there is enough evidence for the case to proceed to a jury trial in the Court of Queen’s Bench. None of the testimony heard during the preliminary hearing can be published, due to a ban designed to protect Schuff’s right to a fair trial.

On Wednesday, Crown prosecutors were set to call to the witness stand two police officers and one civilian witness to hear their evidence against Schuff. The preliminary hearing is set to last three days, before provincial court Judge Catherine Carlson is expected to decide whether to send the case to the Court of Queen’s Bench.

Schuff, wearing standard-issue grey sweats, with her blonde hair highlighted and curled, sat in the prisoner’s box next to a sheriff’s officer during the hearing in Winnipeg. She often kept her arms crossed and eyes downward as testimony continued.

Schuff was 44 when she was arrested within minutes of the police discovering Kenny’s body around 3 a.m. on April 10, 2017.

At the time, the Winnipeg Police Service said an “edged weapon” had been used against Kenny, but police could not publicly point to a motive.

Schuff lived down the street from Kenny’s home on the 400 block of Camden Place, and a friend previously described the victim as “a beautiful lady who wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

Those in the neighbourhood who knew both women previously told the Free Press they didn’t know of any animosity between them, and called the killing “bizarre.”

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay