Crown alleges accused in Eduardo Balaquit's disappearance and death driven by financial desperation
A trial started Monday morning for a man charged with manslaughter in the death and disappearance of 59-year-old Eduardo Balaquit.
Kyle Alexander Pietz, who was 35 when he was charged in March 2021, has pleaded not guilty to the charge. He is presumed innocent.
A jury trial in the Manitoba Court of Queens Bench is scheduled for six weeks.
On Monday, during the opening day of the trial, jurors heard Balaquit has been missing since June 4, 2018. His body has not been found.
“This is a case about financial desperation,” Crown attorney Vanessa Gama told jurors.
Gama told the court in the Crown’s opening statement at the time of his disappearance, Balaquit was working cleaning a business — Westcon Equipment — in the 300 block of Keewatin Street, where Gama told the court Pietz previously worked.
Gama told the court after Pietz finished a shift on the night of April 24, 2018, Westcon suffered a break-in and about $1,700 was stolen from a petty cash box.
Gama told the jury Pietz’s fingerprint was found on a pamphlet used to jimmy the lock into building.
“Shortly after the break-in, Mr. Pietz stopped showing up for work and on May 16th of 2018 he ceased his employment there,” Gama told the court. “By June 4th of 2018 his payments were bouncing, the creditors were calling and he had absolutely no money in his bank account.”
“For Kyle Pietz, it was financial rock bottom.”
Gama told the court the jury will hear evidence that on 6 p.m. on June 4, Balaquit went to clean Westcon and that prior to the business closing Pietz was seen circling the building.
“Mr. Balaquit entered his alarm code at 6:05 p.m. and he was never seen or heard from again,” Gama told the jury.
The Crown alleges Pietz robbed Balaquit of his bank cards and PIN numbers and caused his death in the process but Gama told the jury the question the evidence won’t answer is how Balaquit died.
She told the court the jury must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that Balaquit is dead because his body’s never been recovered.
Balaquit’s family members are among those expected to testify at the trial.
The trial continues.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.