Judge denies bail to American charged with murder

ROSEAU, Dominica (CMC):

High Court Judge Colin Williams Thursday denied bail to United States national Jonathan Lehrer, one of two American nationals charged with the murders of famed Canadian animator Daniel Langlois, 66, and his long-time partner Dominique Marchand, 58.

Lehrer had sought bail in order to travel overseas for medical treatment.

However, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Sherma Dalrymple, speaking to reporters following the ‘in camera’ hearing, said Justice Williams had denied the request for the accused to travel to Texas in the United States to obtain medical care.

She said that the application had been heavily opposed by the DPP and the state’s team that included Trinidad-based attorney Keith Scotland, the special prosecutor.

“Today, Justice Colin Williams ruled after hearing arguments on Monday, April 8 that there was no just cause to grant the applicant bail, and also the requirement of the Bail Act had not been met for the granting of bail”.

Asked whether the accused could re-apply for bail at a later stage, the DPP said “in matters of that nature, from my experience, when bail is not granted at the first instance, where there is a change of circumstance and an application is brought before the court, another application can be made”.

In December last year, murder charges were filed against Lehrer, 57, and 62-year-old Robert Snyder Jr., over the deaths of animation pioneer and Quebec philanthropist Daniel Langlois and his partner.

The prosecution alleges that, between November 29 and December 2, 2023, the two Americans murdered Langlois and his partner Marchand. Their bodies were found incinerated in a car near Gallion, in the south of the island, where they owned a hotel. Langlois and Marchand had been reported missing for several days.

Lehrer and Langlois had fought bitterly over the use of a road that sliced through the former’s property on the Bois Cotlette Estate, one of the oldest plantations in Dominica. But the High Court had ruled that the road was public.

Langlois had made a fortune developing cutting-edge 3D animation software for the company he founded, Softimage, that was used in Hollywood blockbusters such as Jurassic Park, Star Wars, and The Matrix.