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A HIGH COURT JUDGE has permanently stayed murder and related charges against a Ste Madeleine man charged with the murder of a one-year-old baby in 2021, after ruling that the prosecution’s withdrawal of a publicly accepted plea agreement amounted to an abuse of process.

The decision means Neville Junior Simon, also known as Allan Knott, is discharged on two indictments arising from a violent incident on September 19, 2021.

In a detailed ruling, Justice Nalini Singh found that the State acted unfairly and unlawfully when it reversed its acceptance of a plea to unlawful act manslaughter after announcing that acceptance in open court and taking steps toward sentencing.