Six-week trial set for October in fatal beating of Halifax gay rights activist

HALIFAX -- The trial of a man accused in the fatal beating of a prominent gay rights activist outside a Halifax bar is now scheduled to begin Oct. 19.

Andre Noel Denny is charged with second-degree murder in the April 2012 death of 49-year-old Raymond Taavel.

The 35-year-old Membertou man was originally scheduled to stand trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in September, but it was delayed when he fired his lawyer.

Six weeks were set aside for the trial during a hearing Thursday.

Taavel died outside Menz bar on Gottingen Street following an altercation.

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  Andre Noel Denny arrives at Nova Scotia Provincial court to be arraigned on charges steaming from the beating death of gay activist Raymond Taavel Halifax, N.S., on April 18, 2012.(Mike Dembeck / THE CANADIAN PRES)

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  Raymond Taavel is shown in a 2008 handout photo. (Shambhala Sun-Marvin Moore / THE CANADIAN PRESS)