Jailhouse COVID-19 outbreak delays verdict in Ajax triple-homicide case

The judge presiding over the trial of Cory Fenn, accused of murdering his girlfriend and two of her children, has delayed his verdict because Fenn could not attend proceedings after a COVID-19 outbreak in the jail holding him.

Fenn faces three second-degree murder charges in the deaths of Krassimira Pejcinovski, 39, her daughter, Venellia 13, and her son, Roy, 15. All three were found murdered in their home on Ajax’s Hilling Drive in March 2018.

Krassiria and Venellia were both stabbed to death, while Roy had been strangled. The discovery led to a Region-wide manhunt for Fenn, who was found a day later hiding in an Oshawa shed.

After his arrest, Fenn said “The knife was afterwards, I just strangled her in the garage,” when asked about a bloodied knife found at the scene. These statements proved a sticking point in proceedings until the judge ruled them as voluntary.

The defense argued that Fenn was in a “cocaine psychosis” at the time of the killings and was not criminally responsible for the deaths. A drug test conducted on Fenn after his arrest found that it had been quite sometime since Fenn used cocaine and testimony from an expert witness cast doubt on the assertion cocaine caused lapses in memory.

The crown asserted meanwhile that Fenn killed Pejcinovski in a rage after she tried to end their relationship. Pejcinovski’s daughter Victoria, who was not home at the time of the murders, testified to a fraught relationship between the two that Pejcinovski assured her would be ending.

Fenn has exhibited erratic behaviour since his trial began. He fired his court-appointed lawyer just prior to jury selection, choosing to represent himself. The lawyer was appointed a friend of the court and helped Fenn with his closing statement.

Fenn has told the court he is a “sovereign king,” arguing that since his soul was “inanimate” at the time, he was not responsible for the killings.

Judge Howard Leibovich said Fenn must be present when he hands down his verdict to the Oshawa courthouse and delayed the announcement until February 10.