A man charged with a double murder that occurred near Tees more than two years ago is hoping for a bail hearing later this month.
Morris William Phillips, 47, formerly of the Lacombe area, reserved his plea on Wednesday in Red Deer provincial court on two first-and/or-second-degree murder charges until Jan. 12.
Calgary lawyer Richard Cairns, who is defending Phillips, told court that he hopes to conduct a bail hearing on Dec. 17 in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench. Phillips was arrested in October.
Cairns adjourned the murder charges, saying he hopes to have all RCMP disclosure surrounding the case by then.
The bail review is in Queen’s Bench because it’s a murder charge.
Phillips is charged with two counts each of first-and/or-second-degree murder and committing an indignity to human remains. He is also charged with arson, which RCMP allege occurred on April 27, 2008, in connection with a fire at a home owned by Phillips in the Tees area.
The bodies of Thomas Joseph Shaughnessy, 46, of Red Deer and Thomas Robert Howells Jr., 40, of the Wetaskiwin and Red Deer areas, were found by RCMP from the Fort Saskatchewan detachment after receiving a call from a farmer in the Lamont area on May 30, 2008.
jwilson@www.reddeeradvocate.com