Erick Buhr fired his lawyer and unsuccessfully requested a mistrial, one week before a jury found him guilty of second degree murder upon the death of his grandmother, Viola Erb.

The details of what happened in the courtroom on October 28 can now be reported.

The jury was not present that day. The attorneys and the judge were to meet to discuss the judge’s instructions to the jury, which were to be delivered after closing speeches and before deliberations.

Instead, Buhr announced that he was looking for a new lawyer and wanted the trial declared a mistrial.

Buhr had testified in his own defense in the previous days. During cross-examination, the Crown pointed out numerous inconsistencies in Buhr’s comments at different times.

For example, Buhr testified that he slept from approximately 4 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. on September 24, 2022, the day Erb died. But his cellphone records show he was texting and on the phone during those times. Buhr later said he had to sleep between texting and calling.

When he asked for a mistrial, Buhr said his lawyer, Bruce Ritter, did not tell him that the Crown had his cellphone records or that there was body camera footage of the emergency intervention, which would be used in court.

Buhr also said he requested detailed GPS data from an ankle monitor he was wearing at the time and never received it. He said he looked at it briefly with Ritter but wanted to study it on his own.

Buhr also said he wanted photos of his hands, taken at the police station the night Erb died.

Erick Buhr’s hands are shown in this forensic exhibit.

“My testimony would have been much more positive if I had had the proper tools to work with,” Buhr said. “The Crown held all the cards. I fought blindly for the most important part of my life.”

“The body camera footage would have greatly enhanced my memory of how September 24th went. I wouldn’t have looked like a liar…if I had the recordings of my cell before speaking in my own defense.”

The Crown opposed the request, with prosecutor Jennifer Caskie telling the judge: “It appears to me, Your Honor, that this is a situation where… Mr. Buhr’s motivation for making this request of mistrial is to derail a trial that is going very badly for him and have a new trial.

Judge Gerry Taylor granted Buhr’s request that Ritter be removed as attorney of record, but Taylor denied the request for a mistrial.

The judge noted that a mistrial is a “remedy of last resort” and that while fairness to Buhr is an important consideration, the impact of a mistrial on the administration of justice is. just as much.

Judge Taylor noted that Erb’s family members also have an interest in having the trial concluded, and that granting a mistrial would likely mean a delay of a year or more before the case is completed.

The closing speeches, originally scheduled for October 29, were then rescheduled for Friday, November 1 to give Buhr time to prepare to give his.

Erick Buhr in a photograph taken by Waterloo Regional Police on September 24, 2022. (Exhibit)

Before the judge left the courtroom that day, Buhr asked, “So you don’t agree that my rights were violated at that time?” My rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Charter?

The judge replied: “I have made my decision. »

Buhr continued to press, asking the judge to go on record saying he disagreed that Buhr’s rights had been violated. Taylor reiterated that he had made his decision.

“I didn’t just ask for a mistrial,” Buhr said.

“But what did you do?” Taylor said.

“I have presented a lot of information and evidence that should explain why a trial should take place,” Buhr said.

“I’m not going to argue with you, sir,” Taylor replied. “You presented no evidence. You made a bunch of allegations.”