Not guilty plea entered, jury selection begins in death of man found in freezer

Chad Reu Waters, 48, has pleaded not guilty to first degree murder in the death of Ashley Pereira.

Waters entered the plea just before the start of jury selection in an Elgin County courtroom in St. Thomas, Ont. Tuesday morning.

Waters, of Jarvis, Ont., also pleaded not guilty to committing indignity to a body by concealing it in a locked freezer.

Pereira, 33, who was born in Uganda but from Mississauga, was last seen in Mississauga on March 6, 2002.

Pereira's body was later identified after OPP used a helicopter to pull a freezer containing human remains from the bluffs in Port Burwell in May 2019.

At the time, people who live in the area told CTV News that the freezer was found in an area people dump trash down the embankment on regular basis.

A local resident had discovered the freezer and human remains inside.

Justice Kirk Munroe told the court the Crown alleges the freezer was kept in the basement of Reu Waters’ South Coast Hobbies and Rides business in Simcoe, Ont.

As the 12-person jury was selected Tuesday, a clean shaven Reu Waters sat in the prisoner’s box.

The jury will consist of eight men and four women, with two additional and two alternate jurors.

The jury was dismissed until Thursday morning when the trial will officially begin. The first witness will be called, and evidence will be presented.

The trial is expected to last between two and four weeks.