Pembroke – The trial of Brandon Lamoureux, the 29-year-old charged with second degree murder in relation to the July 21, 2021 murder of 40-year-old Gilbert Rumleskie, began Monday with opening statements.
The accused, who is charged in connection with a murder at the Pine Tree Motel in Eganville, appeared before Justice Anne London-Weinstein in the Superior Court of Justice in Pembroke.
Mr. Lamoureux, who was 27-years-old at the time of the murder, was one of two suspects charged in relation to the murder of Mr. Rumleskie at the motel. Jordan Plumb, who was 19 years old at the time, was also taken into custody and charged with manslaughter.
The Crown Attorney’s Office is represented by lead council Julien Lalande and second council is Goher Irfan.
The trial continued on Tuesday (yesterday) with Mr. Lalande calling on Mr. Plumb to take the stand. Most of the questioning evolved around establishing the relationship between the deceased and the two men charged in his death. The two accused shared a room at the motel and Mr. Rumleskie also lived at the motel in a separate room.
Mr. Lalande shared a series of texts from the accused cell phone. It was established that Mr. Plumb was in contact with Mr. Lamoureux who was in Pembroke the day of the murder and that Mr. Rumleskie was “upset” with Mr. Lamoureux stemming from an incident in a car they were in.
According to Mr. Plumb’s testimony, the deceased was upset that Mr. Lamoureux was engaged in sexual relations with a female in the front seat of the car while Mr. Rumleskie remained in the back seat on the day of the murder.
Court adjourned for the day on Tuesday at press time and resumes this morning (Wednesday). It is expected Mr. Lalande will recall Mr. Plumb to the stand to continue his questioning regarding events leading up to the murder.
On July 21, 2021, members of the Killaloe OPP responded to a 911 call and found the victim on the ground at the hotel around 6:30 p.m. and despite attempts by paramedics at the scene to revive him, the Barry’s Bay native succumbed to his injuries.
At the time, both Mr. Lamoureux and Mr. Plumb were transferred to the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre for a week until their virtual bail hearing. During that hearing, Justice Jeffery Richardson ordered Mr. Plumb to be released into the care of his father with minimal bail conditions, including no contact with Mr. Lamoureux.
Facing a Second-Degree murder charge, Mr. Lamoureux has remained in custody at the OCDC for the last two years.
More details will be available in next week’s issue of the Leader.
