Preliminary inquiry into Sharbot Lake murder adjourned until later in month
The preliminary hearing of the case against Sebastian Johnston, who is charged with murder in the death of Kevin Camilleri, has been adjourned following a week of intense testimony.
The Honourable Justice Alison J. Wheeler presided over Courtroom 1 at the Kingston Ontario Court of Justice in the MacDonald-Cartier Building on Wellington Street, where the case against Johnston was tested. Beginning on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, and continuing daily until the end of the day on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, Crown attorneys Alan Findlay and Keith Schultz presented the evidence they have assembled against Johnston and called witnesses to testify. The inquiry now stands adjourned until later in the month, with four scheduled days remaining.
In Canada, a preliminary hearing, also known as a preliminary inquiry, is a court proceeding that determines if there is enough evidence to try a case. Although it is not a trial, evidence is presented and given under oath, and defence counsel has the right to cross-examine witnesses.
Section 539 of the Criminal Code of Canada bans the publication of evidence presented at a preliminary inquiry until the accused has been discharged or, if the accused is ordered to stand trial, the trial has ended.
A slight man with a mop of brown hair and a dark goatee, Johnston spent much of the inquiry slumped in the prisoner’s dock. He is being represented by Jeffrey Langevin.
Johnston was 29 when he was arrested in early December 2023 for the first-degree murder of 59-year-old Kevin Saviour Camilleri.
Camilleri was reported missing to police on November 16, 2023, having last been seen alive on November 9, 2023, in the Sharbot Lake area.
On the evening of Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) released a statement confirming that Camilleri’s body had been located by the OPP Frontenac Detachment Crime Unit, with the assistance of the OPP Emergency Response Team (ERT). They also announced that members of the Frontenac Detachment of the OPP had arrested and charged Johnston with the murder on Friday, Dec.1, 2023, prior to the discovery of Camilleri’s body.
Kingstonist will continue to follow this case as it proceeds through the courts.