HALIFAX -- A 22-year-old man accused of stabbing another man to death in Halifax last year is to stand trial on a second-degree murder charge.
The Crown wanted Vincent James Steele to be tried for first-degree murder, but the judge who heard evidence at a recent preliminary inquiry in Halifax provincial court opted for the lesser charge.
Twenty-year-old Neema Barati died March 31, 2013 after he was stabbed at a Seaforth Street house in west-end Halifax.
The evidence from the preliminary hearing and the reasons behind the judge's decision are banned from publication to preserve Steele's right to a fair trial by a jury of his peers.
Steele will appear in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax on Aug. 28 to begin the process of setting trial dates.
He remains in custody at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility.
