A new trial for Leslie Lonsbary, a corrections officer accused in the death of Adam Kargus at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre, is getting underway.
Lonsbary is one of two guards charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life in the inmate's Oct. 2013 beating death at the facility.
In the first trial, manager Stephen Jurkus was found not guilty of the charge, while a mistrial was declared for Lonsbary after the jury failed to reach a decision.
Both men had pleaded not guilty in the case. The trial ended in February after three weeks of testimony.
On Monday, a jury was selected for the retrial and Crown Attorney Kelly Fraser delivered his opening statements.
He explained, "Mr. Lonsbary is charged with failing to perform certain duties to keep Adam Kargus safe."
And regarding the night of the murder, Fraser told the jury, "You will hear evidence that Adam was screaming, it was very loud...[Lonsbary's] duties included responding to obvious distress."
Evidence presentation will begin on Tuesday with the trial expected to last three weeks.
In 2017, Anthony George, Kargus' cell mate, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of the 29-year-old.
- With files from CTV London's Nick Paparella.
