‘A lot can be done in 23 minutes’

In closing arguments, defence suggests others in Michel Pilon’s apartment could have killed him

It may come down to 23 minutes.

That time frame could make the difference between George Opassinis being convicted of second-degree murder and a jury deciding if an alternate suspect had time to kill Michel Pilon.

During closing arguments Monday, defence lawyer Barry Fox and assistant Crown attorney Fraser McCracken looked hard at the 23 minutes in which drug dealer Marek Dirda, his girlfriend Hailey McVikar, Opassinis and Michel were in Michel’s apartment.

Fox says that was plenty of time for Dirda to argue with Michel over a drug debt, strangle and hog-tie him, and ransack the apartment while McVikar had sex with Opassinis.

“A lot can be done in 23 minutes,” Fox told the jury.

“Don’t forget, there’s two of them.”

McCracken argued 23 minutes isn’t enough time to wreak that devastation. He pointed to the elaborate way Michel was trussed in his bathroom.

He reminded jurors that when Dirda and McVikar left the apartment, security video shows they did not hurry or hide.

The Crown said if Opassinis really loved his friend Michel the way he said, he would not have left him in potential danger with Dirda.

Michel, 53, was found dead in his Melvin Avenue supported living apartment on Nov. 30, 2018.

He weighed 97 pounds, used a wheelchair and was addicted to crystal meth.

McCracken’s theory is Michel tried to evict Opassinis, who had crashed at his place for five weeks. They argued and Opassinis strangled then hog-tied him.

After Dirda and McVikar left, Opassinis was the only person with Michel for 24 hours until the murder was discovered.

Opassinis, a heavy man with a grey ponytail and glasses, testified he was in a drug-induced slumber and woke to find Michel dead.

At 1:19 a.m. on Nov. 29, 2018, Dirda and McVikar came to Michel’s door. He stepped into the hall before allowing them in. It is the last time he appears on video.

At 1:43 a.m., Dirda — who was banned from the building and has 31 criminal convictions — and McVikar — currently in jail facing an unrelated first-degree murder charge — left the apartment.

Fox told the jury it made no sense for his client to ransack the apartment — clothes and food on the floor, cupboards open, drawers pulled out.

“Somebody was looking for something,” Fox said. But Opassinis would already know where everything was.

Yet why would Opassinis wake, find the apartment in disarray and not investigate? McCracken countered.

Opassinis said he took more drugs and then went back to sleep.

Neighbour Pauline Buckingdale testified she heard a “domestic assault” on Nov. 29. Someone shouted, “Ow, what the f---, man!”

Fox said she didn’t know who uttered that.

The Crown reminded jurors Buckingdale went to Michel’s door, concerned.

Fox’s defence rests heavily on a confidential police informant named Shaun Anderson.

“He’s the star of the show,” Fox told jurors.

Anderson contacted police in August 2019 to say Dirda confessed to killing Michel.

Since then, Anderson flipflopped several times.

During the trial, Anderson weakly testified the confession was true.

Fox reminded jurors Anderson received no compensation for his tip, and even when he inexplicably waived his right to confidentiality as an informant, he still took the stand.

The jury knows Anderson was jailed to ensure he showed up to testify.

Fox urged the jury to believe Anderson.

The Crown told them not to. Anderson has 78 criminal convictions, including fraud.

“You can’t believe a word Shaun Anderson tells you,” said McCracken.

“Dirda never confessed anything.”

It doesn’t make sense for Dirda to take time to hog-tie Michel’s body (forensic pathology shows this happened after death) with Opassinis in the apartment.

“Marek Dirda didn’t have the luxury of time,” said the Crown. “George Opassinis did.”

To finish, Fox suggested jurors take a 23-minute break to feel just how long that is.

The Crown ended by saying Michel’s lifestyle was rough.

“But Michel Pilon was still a member of our community. He didn’t deserve what happened to him.

“He deserves the full protection of the law.”