THUNDER BAY — Nearly three-and-a-half years after 52-year-old Andrew Ayre was found unresponsive on the city’s south side and later died in hospital, the two men accused in his death are scheduled to stand trial for manslaughter next week.
David Vernon Gregorovich, 35, and Jason Raven, 26, will stand trial before Justice Bruce Fitzpatrick in a Thunder Bay courtroom on Monday on charges of manslaughter and robbery.
Initially the trial was to be before a jury, but a recent re-election will see it proceed by judge alone.
The charges date back to the afternoon of April 25, 2019 when paramedics responded to reports of a man in distress on the sidewalk on the corner of Victoria Avenue and North Street.
The man, identified as Ayre, was transported to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and succumbed to his injuries four days later.
An investigation by the Thunder Bay Police Service determined Ayre’s death to be a homicide. Prior to his death, Ayre was able to communicate with investigators and the incident was captured on surveillance video.
Gregorovich was arrested on April 30, 2019 and charged with second-degree murder and robbery. Raven was arrested the next day — May 1, 2019 — and also charged with second-degree murder.
The trial is scheduled for two weeks.
