PICTOU – On Monday afternoon, a small courtroom in the Pictou Justice Complex is expected to be the focus of heightened media attention.
A 15-day preliminary inquiry for Christopher Alexander Falconer, accused of kidnapping and murdering 19-year-old Amber Kirwan in October 2011, will begin at 1:30 p.m.
The case has drawn national media attention in the past along with crowds of onlookers waiting outside of the justice complex to catch a glimpse of 30-year-old Falconer who is the only person charged in the homicide investigation.
Kirwan went missing in the early morning hours of October 9, 2011 after she left a New Glasgow pool hall to meet her boyfriend at a nearby convenience store. A massive search effort and public vigils took place in the county for weeks following her disappearance, but police found her remains in Heathbell on Nov. 5.
The missing person case quickly morphed into a homicide investigation that resulted in the arrest of Falconer five months later. He was arrested in January on a parole violation in connection with a previous, non-related murder conviction and returned to Dorchester Penitentiary. He was charged with murder and kidnapping in May in relation to the Kirwan case.
Check back later for more info on how an inquiry works and what attorneys are expecting from this case.
