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Man pleads guilty in death of Simon Grant

Sep 19, 2017 | 8:56 AM

An eighteen-year-old man accused of second-degree murder in the violent death of a La Ronge restauranteur has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Austin Bird pleaded guilty yesterday in a La Ronge courtroom, admitting to the lesser offence of manslaughter. He will make his next appearance in October. 

The charges stem from an armed robbery April 15 at Louisiana’s Bar-B-Que that ended with the death of the owner, 64-year-old Simon Grant. The local RCMP released images of the robbery and requested help from the public in identifying the attackers. Later in April police charged 18-year-old Bird with murder along with two youths, ages 17 and 14. In addition to second-degree murder, the trio was also charged with armed robbery, using an imitation firearm, wearing a disguise and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Another 18-year-old, Mathew Nagy-Charles, was later charged as an accessory to the killing. Nagy-Charles and the other two accused are still making their way through the courts.