Jun. 02 2010
TORONTO — A 29-year-old man charged in the death of eight-year-old Victoria Stafford will go straight to trial without a preliminary hearing.
Michael Rafferty's preliminary hearing was scheduled to start June 21, but the Ministry of the Attorney General is now proceeding with a direct indictment.
When Tori failed to return home from school on April 8, 2009 in Woodstock, Ont., it set off a desperate search that touched hearts countrywide.
Terri-Lynne McClintic, 20, and Rafferty, 29, were arrested the following month and charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping.
Tori's remains were not found until more than three months after her disappearance, some 100 kilometres away in a field north of Guelph.
Court proceedings in McClintic's case are under a sweeping publication ban.
Preliminary hearings are held to see if there is enough evidence to go to trial.
It was not immediately clear when Rafferty's trial would begin.
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100602/stafford-murder-rafferty-trial-100602/2010
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