The hearings for the man charged with the tragic murder of 11 individuals at Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu Day festival have been postponed until January to allow his lawyer to review the extensive documents provided by the prosecution.
Kai-Ji Adam Lo, appearing via video at Vancouver provincial court, wore a blue sweatshirt and sat calmly in a chair, awaiting the start of the proceedings.
Both the prosecutors and Lo’s lawyer, Mark Swartz, have agreed on January 12 as the date for the next hearing.
Lo is facing 11 second-degree murder charges and 31 attempted murder charges for allegedly driving into a crowd with an SUV during the festival in April.
According to Prosecutor Michaela Donnelly, the Crown has been steadily providing Swartz with numerous documents since Lo’s last court appearance in September, with more still to come.
The decision to further adjourn the case was mutual, as both parties recognized the need to handle the additional evidence disclosure. Judge Reginald Harris agreed that postponing the case for a while was necessary due to the substantial volume of evidence involved.
In a ruling last month, Harris deemed Lo fit to stand trial while maintaining a publication ban on the evidence presented during Lo’s mental fitness evaluation.