Guy Pauls' trial, after a change of venue, began in London, Ontario, on January 7, 1986. On February 7, he was acquitted after the jury deliberated for thirteen hours. After spending ten months in jail, Guy Paul was set free.
The Crown appealed, which is their right in Canada. (There is no prohibition against double jeopardy in Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.) The Court of Appeal reversed the jury's decision on June 7, 1987. Guy Paul was arrested again and charged with first-degree murder. Again, he declared his innocence. He filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Canada. A new trial date was set.
Over a period of months, the trial was postponed and new dates were set. Finally on November 13, 1991, six years after his original acquittal, Guy Paul was facing a jury. On July 23, 1992, after a week of deliberations, the jury read the verdict: Guilty!
Guy Paul immediately appealed. While his appeal was pending before the Ontario Court of Appeal, DNA evidence became available. Christine's body was exhumed. It was sent to the Ontario Centre of Forensic Science. Many discrepancies turned up. It was found that the coroner who originally examined Christine's body had been very lax in his examination and report. DNA completely eliminated Guy Paul as Christine's killer. He was freed on January 23, 1995.
This was not the end of the Jessop/Morin case. An investigation turned up forensic fraud by police officers and jail house snitches, who had been granted deals for their perjured testimonies. Guy Paul had been framed.
In a tv interview, Guy Paul stated that he was horrified and infuriated when the jury found him guilty. He couldn't believe what was happening. He couldn't believe that the same police officers who had committed fraud in his case were still on the police force.
Guy Paul spent eleven years in a hell that was the making of corrupt officials. Why? Who knows. Maybe they thought that they needed a guilty verdict to stop public outcry. Maybe they just wanted the case solved so they didn't have to be bothered with it. Or maybe they were paid to find a scapegoat for the crime while the real killer went free. I guess we'll never know.
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