An Oak Bay man convicted of the second-degree murders of his young daughters on Christmas Day 2017 will return to court on Oct. 16 to set a date for his sentencing hearing.
On Sept. 26, a B.C. Supreme Court jury found Andrew Berry guilty of the murders of six-year-old Chloe Berry and four-year-old Aubrey Berry.
This afternoon, Crown prosecutor Patrick Weir told the court there had been discussions with Berry’s lawyer, Kevin McCullough, and the trial scheduler and they were unable to set a date.
Weir asked for the case to be adjourned one week to give the lawyers time to appear in front of the trial judge, Justice Miriam Gropper, to see if she can assist in setting a sentencing date.
Berry, wearing red sweatpants and a red sweatshirt, made a brief appearance by video from the North Fraser pretrial custody centre.
He is automatically sentenced to life in prison for the murders. The issue at sentencing will be how long he must remain in prison before he is eligible for parole.
Sarah Cotton, Chloe and Aubrey’s mother, was present in the court room during Berry’s brief appearance.
Outside court, Weir explained the lawyers and the trial co-ordinator were unable to set a date because of various scheduling conflicts.
“We’re just trying to find a date that’s convenient for everybody,” he said.
Berry will appear by video again on Oct. 16 at 2 p.m.
