Andrew Bates, Telegraph-Journal, Local Journalism Initiative
A man accused in the 2025 death of a Rothesay woman is heading to a jury trial after being indicted on charges including second-degree murder.
Calvin Burns-Smith, 32, appeared by phone Feb. 2 in Saint John Court of King’s Bench to discuss trial dates. He is charged with second-degree murder and interference with or indignity to remains in the death of Sarah Teakles, 26, who was found dead in Maces Bay days after being reported missing April 14 in Musquash.
Burns-Smith chose a jury trial and had been set for a preliminary inquiry in July, but was instead directly indicted on Jan. 16, according to documents. A preliminary inquiry is a provincial court hearing where a judge hears evidence to decide whether a case can proceed to trial.
With the indictment, Burns-Smith is set for an eight-week jury trial in Court of King’s Bench, according to documents. At Motions Day last week, Justice Kathryn Gregory said that trial dates had been identified from Sept. 15 to Nov. 12, 2027.
“We’re going to need to find earlier dates than that. That’s, to me, way beyond the limits,” Burns-Smith’s lawyer Brian Munro told the court by phone.
Under a 2016 Supreme Court ruling, a defendant has the charter right to reasonably expect to be tried within 30 months of first appearance in a higher-court case, barring exceptional circumstances or delays caused by the defence. Since Burns-Smith was charged in April, the ceiling in his case would be Oct. 22, 2027.
The wait for a jury trial above 10 days was 16 months in Saint John as of the fourth quarter of 2025, according to provincial statistics. The wait was also 16 months in Moncton and 22 months in Fredericton.
Munro said he was available after the first few weeks of January 2027 and suggested a trial between April and July. For “voir dire” pre-trial evidence hearings, he said that although he and the Crown are in discussions to reduce the length, they would likely require four weeks some time before the planned trial.
Gregory then told Munro that April 19 to May 14, 2027, had been identified for the voir dire hearings, and asked if they could be tentatively scheduled for now.
“Why are we not setting those dates as the trial dates?” Munro asked, suggesting that the voir dire hearings could be split up if time was available earlier.
Gregory said that other cases had been set for Motions Day hearings that morning, and if there was “a real issue here with the dates” that they needed to book a pre-trial conference and give the court office time to communicate with lawyers.
Prosecutor Elaina Campbell said the Crown would be available for the dates but that she “echoed” Munro’s concerns.
“This is a long wait for a trial,” Campbell said, saying she suggested splitting up the voir dire hearings over multiple one-week stretches. She said while she is still asking for four weeks, there is a chance it could be reduced to three.
Gregory said that they needed a pre-trial conference, and asked to confirm the existing dates. While the April opening is four weeks, she noted that the trial is currently set for eight.
Campbell agreed with eight weeks, but Munro said he didn’t think it needed so much time, noting that he’d seen longer trials take much less time than initially booked.
Gregory said they will set the voir dire hearings in April and trial dates in November “for the purposes of the record.”
“With all due respect, I just indicated to the court that I’m available after January 18, 2027, so why isn’t that–” Munro said, before Gregory interrupted.
“All I’m saying is … we’re going to try to see if we can come up with other dates,” Gregory said. “All your comments are on the record and the Crown is agreeing with you, so let’s just leave it at that.”
A pre-trial conference was scheduled for March 26.
The RCMP said last year that Teakles had been reported missing April 14 in Musquash, about 30 kilometres west of Saint John, and that search teams found her remains April 17 in Maces Bay, about 20 kilometres to the southwest.
Police said Burns-Smith was in custody on unrelated threat charges dating to April 5 and April 17 in Saint John when he was formally arrested April 21 in connection with Teakles’ death. He was initially charged with manslaughter and interference with human remains until the murder charge was laid and the manslaughter charge withdrawn in August.
Burns-Smith has pleaded not guilty to the threats charges and a provincial court trial in that case has been scheduled for June 5.
The charges against Burns-Smith have not yet been tested in court. An automatic ban on publication applies to evidence discussed in the absence of the jury.
