Case of former top Newfoundland athlete charged with murder put over

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – The case of a former top Newfoundland athlete charged in the death of a man whose body was found under the stairwell of a St. John’s apartment building has been put over until the new year.

A lawyer for 29-year-old Anne Norris was not able to be in court in St. John’s on Thursday, causing her arraignment to be postponed until Jan. 9.

A judge ruled last month there was enough evidence to send Norris to trial on a charge of first-degree murder.

Norris, whose father is a former top provincial bureaucrat, was arrested several days after the body of Marcel Reardon, 46, was discovered last May 9. Residents who saw the corpse told reporters he appeared to have been badly beaten.

Police have said Reardon and Norris knew each other and that no other suspects were being sought. Officers also recovered a weapon believed to be involved in his death.

Norris was named in 2005 to the provincial women’s under-19 basketball team competing at the junior national championships.

Her father, Gary Norris, was the province’s top public servant — clerk of the executive council and secretary to cabinet — before retiring with thanks from former premier Danny Williams.