Man Charged in Christmas Card Slaying

A man described as a former honour student looked distressed and dishevelled Wednesday as he appeared briefly in court, charged with first-degree murder in the brutal death of a grandfather who was delivering Christmas cards to neighbours.

Trevor Lapierre, 22, made the brief appearance clad in protective clothing and was remanded in custody until Jan. 9.

“He appeared to most people to be a person in some distress — dishevelled and disordered in his appearance,” said lawyer Brennan Smart, who is acting for Mr. Lapierre.

“He was upset, he was crying.”

Mr. Lapierre was charged late Tuesday in the slaying of Hunter Brown, 74.

The well-loved Brown, a retired Bell Canada executive, was delivering
Christmas cards to neighbours on his quiet tree-lined cul de sac
Saturday when he was attacked by a man with an edged weapon.

Mr. Brown was left bleeding to death on a neighbour's driveway, just steps from his home.

Two days later, in another incident that frayed neighbourhood nerves
even more, a 35-year-old man clearing his driveway just streets away
from the Brown home used his show shovel to fend off a similar attack.