As dog breeder trial grinds on, worry grows it won’t end when planned

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ST. THOMAS – The question looming over the lengthy first-degree murder retrial of a former high-flying field dog breeder charged for a decade-old homicide is whether he will testify in his own defence.

The judge overseeing the case made it clear Thursday that he needs to know by the end of Friday whether Boris Panovski, 80, who has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and attempted murder, is going to take the stand so that court scheduling issues – and the possibility that the case won’t finish next week as planned – can be tackled head-on.

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“I still don’t have instructions yet about whether Mr. Panovski intends on taking the stand. He’s still considering that, your honour,” Panovski’s defence lawyer Margaret Barnes told Superior Court Justice Marc Garson.

Garson said he was going to need an answer. “It strikes me we are at a decision point that is fast approaching,” he said.

“For all concerned both in terms of your ability to be prepared, and the Crown’s ability to be prepared to immediately deal with the cross-examination, that decision needs to come to fruition by the end of the day tomorrow.”

Barnes, who is in the first week of calling defence evidence for the colourful Scarborough man accused of shooting a Toronto-area businessperson and his wife over a longstanding dog grudge, assured Garson that the case remains on track despite several glitches and delays.

Admittedly, she said, the defence case has been presented “more like a trickle” than a steady flow of evidence while she has been trying to line up witnesses and make late requests to the Crown for police notes and statements.

But there appears to be a growing sense of worry, certainly on the Crown’s part, that Panovski’s trial won’t conclude by the end of next week as Garson wanted. Assistant Crown attorney Elizabeth Brown said her superiors need to know because she has other major trial assignments scheduled.

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“I don’t think we’re going to finish next week,” she said, especially if Panovski does testify. Brown noted that Barnes still has a lengthy roster of witnesses she intends to call.

Garson said he will take Barnes at her word and reminded both sides that “I am not stopping until the matter is done” and he has no intention of hearing the case “on the installment plan.”

That would mean the rest of the defence’s case, with or without Panovski’s testimony, plus closing submissions would have to be finished at the end of next week.

If the timing of Panovski’s first trial is any indication, that could be a tall order. In 2018, Panovski was in the witness box for five days.

He is charged for the Sept. 13, 2024, killing of Donato Frigo, 70, and wounding of his wife Eva Willer Frigo, 56, who were shot while they were riding horses and training one of their field dogs at the Hullett Provincial Wildlife Area north of Clinton in Huron County.

The Crown is arguing Panovski held a long-standing grudge against Frigo for renaming a champion dog Panovski bred after Panovski was shunned from the field dog community following his arrest in 2005 at a prestigious event in Waynesboro, Ga.

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A high-profile eight-week jury trial was held in Goderich in 2018 where he was convicted. However, Panovski successfully appealed in 2021 after the Ontario Court of Appeal found that the judge’s instructions to the jury were unfair.

The case was ordered moved to St. Thomas and May 6 was selected as the start of the six-week jury trial. However, Panovski changed defence lawyers at the end of April, and the court agreed to delaying until May 21.

Just days before the jury was to be selected, Panovski opted for a judge-alone trial with Garson presiding. The evidence began on May 23 and is in its eighth week.

The last-minute change of defence counsel has proven challenging for all parties. Barnes has been getting up to speed, and has requested additional time mid-trial to prepare, plus has made numerous last-minute requests for additional information from the Crown.

Garson made comments earlier in the trial that the Macedonian interpreters Panovski requires to translate any unfamiliar English phrases were not going to be available after next week.

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The stress and tension has bubbled up during the proceedings, but Garson has kept it on track.

“Let’s be clear. We’ve all had our plans to derailed. I’ve asked people to move mountains and I’ve moved my own,” he told the lawyers on Thursday. “I’ll keep asking and if those mountains get taller, then the ask will get a tad more strenuous. If we hit an insurmountable point, then I’ll address it.”

To this point, it appears Barnes’s strategy has been to call police witnesses and question them about “tunnel vision,” suggesting that Panovski became their only suspect while other investigative paths were abandoned.

But Thursday, she returned to the identification evidence. She called John Gibson, the father of Crown witness Jeff Gibson, who, with his son, saw an unfamiliar car parked at the side of their backroad not far from the wildlife area.

John Gibson said he and his son drove down the road to see the car after his son spotted it. There had been concerns about strangers growing marijuana in their corn fields and they had troubles with people hunting.

He said he was driving and his son was in the passenger seat. He recalled seeing a man “who was not overweight,” no taller with five feet nine inches wearing beige pants and a green shirt at the car. The blue-green car was well-looked after with a Toyota emblem, with heavily-tinted windows and chrome wheels, Gibson said. The Gibsons turned around and drove past it again.

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“The person came out of the back passenger seat area. They were wearing a long camouflage trench coat and walked quickly around the back of the car as we were getting close and held their hand out so we couldn’t see their face, got into the driver’s side and shut the door,” Gibson said.

In cross-examination, he said he agreed he told the police that his son had a better look at the car than he did.

Also called to testify was Panovski’s friend Danche Evtimovski who said he and Panovski went to a Macedonian festival at a Markham church on Sept 14, 2014, the day after the shooting and the day before Panovski suddenly left for Macedonia.

Evitimovski said Panovski was “normal,” although he was nursing a cough. Barnes showed the court a brief security video from the church showing Panvoski with Evitimovski at the reception area. Evitimovski said Panovski was well-dressed, wearing a white blazer and pants.

They left early because it was raining and Panovski wasn’t feeling well, he said. Panovski didn’t invite him to his apartment and never said he was leaving for Europe the next day, Evitimovski said.

The trial continues on Friday.

jsims@postmedia.com

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