‘Your suggestions, sir, are incorrect’: Accused killer Jeremy Hall rejects Crown narrative in murder trial
Your suggestions, sir, are incorrect."
That is all Jeremy Hall has to say for himself.
The accused killer repeats those words dozens of times from the witness stand Wednesday as assistant Crown attorney Mark Dean puts to him evidence of how he abducted, shot and burned Billy Mason.
Relying on two of Hall's closest companions - his then-wife Carol Anne Eaton and his partner in crime Jeremy Lusted - along with phone records, Dean builds his case point by point.
Correct?" he asks Hall each time.
Your suggestions, sir, are incorrect," Hall answers, offering no alternative to the narrative stacking up against him.
Hall, 46, is on trial for first-degree murder in the 2006 killing of Billy, 27. The Crown's theory is Hall believed Billy set him up to rip off a drug dealer associated with the Hells Angels, causing gang members to shoot up Hall's house in retaliation.
On Feb. 24, 2006, Hall arranged to meet Lusted in Hamilton at 12:50 p.m., Dean suggests. Together, they went to Billy's apartment.
With no warning whatsoever, you pull out a sawed-off shotgun. Correct?," says Dean.
Your suggestions, sir, are incorrect."
They put Billy in the cab of the stolen truck Hall was driving.
You need another body to sandwich him in, to keep him inside the truck," says the Crown. What better body to sandwich him in, than Jay Lusted? Morbidly obese Jay Lusted?"
Your suggestions, sir, are incorrect."
Riding out to the country, Hall confronts Billy about his betrayal. Lusted testified to the conversation. Eaton gave a statement to police saying Hall told her all about it.
They are both 100 per cent incorrect," Hall says.
On a rural road, Hall ordered Billy out of the truck.
You shoot him point blank and leave him for dead, don't you?" asks the Crown.
No, I do not. Your theory is predicated on a lie," replies Hall.
Five days later, Hall enlists Lusted to retrieve Billy's body and incinerate it at Hall's farm in Alma, says Dean.
Your suggestions, sir, are incorrect."
Phone records for February 2006 show zero calls from Hall's land line to Lusted's cellphone. The next month, there were 171 calls between the two phones.
Hall had to use his land line because he dumped his burner" cellphone after Billy's abduction.
That burner phone told the story of a few days before," says Dean. The murder and burning of Billy Mason's body,"
Hall says phone records can't prove who was talking. He says his crew" talked a lot by phone as they planned their crimes, including drug rips, vehicle thefts and gun trafficking.
This is just how we do our life, man," Hall says. I could call you 1,000 times in a month. It doesn't mean anything ... It's just a day in the life, man."
But it wasn't, Dean counters.
At the farm, you decide to treat Billy Mason's body like any other piece of useless garbage," says Dean, referring to Hall's earlier testimony that he often burned garbage.
Your suggestions, sir, are incorrect."
Hall previously told the court that bonfires bring peace to my soul."
So you think this is a great idea, don't you?" says Dean. Might as well crack a beer while you're at it."
Lusted said they drank beer while Billy's body burned.
Your suggestions, sir, are incorrect."
Billy's mom weeps in the courtroom.
You stay with the fire for sometime," says Dean. To ensure whatever is left of Billy Mason's body is broken down into a form you are able to dispose of."
Your suggestions, sir, are incorrect."
You believed you were wronged by Billy Mason."
Your suggestion is incorrect, sir."
You saw him as less than human. When you abducted him from his apartment, murdered him in a field, burned him on your farm, you treated him as less than human. You stole him from his family, correct?"
Your suggestions, sir, are incorrect."
You know perfectly well you're guilty of first-degree murder, correct?"
That is not correct."
Susan Clairmont is a Hamilton-based crime, court and social justice columnist at The Spectator. Reach her via email: sclairmont@thespec.com