A former nurse accused of killing eight residents of long-term care facilities in Woodstock and London made another court appearance via video link Friday.
Elizabeth Wettlaufer was again clad in the green shirt and pants issued to her by the Vanier Detention Centre in Milton. She has been held there since her arrest in October. She is charged with eight counts of first degree murder, four counts of attempted murder, and two counts of aggravated assault.
At Friday's hearing, an agent for her lawyer asked for an adjournment until March 17. On that day, it's expected that a date will be set for a judicial pre-trial, which is a meeting involving the judge, police, defence lawyers, and the Crown.
In the meantime, the court is working on bringing in a judge from outside Woodstock to hear the case.
Wettlaufer was arrested October 25 and charged with eight counts of first degree murder in the deaths of seven residents of Caressant Care in Woodstock and one resident of Meadow Park nursing home in London.
On January 13, it was announced that she was facing addition charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault. Those charges relate to residents of long-term care homes in Woodstock and Paris, as well as a private home in Oxford County.
Susan Horvath, whose father Arpad Horvath Sr. was allegedly murdered by Wettlaufer at Meadow Park in August 2014, believes talk of setting a pre-trial date finally gives families hope that the wheels of justice are in motion.
"This is good news. It's progress. This is a very big thing for families [of Wettlaufer's alleged victims]," Horvath said to reporters outside of the courthouse. "The days where you think it is going to be another situation where it is same old, same old, it turns out we get a little glimmer of hope."
Arpad Horvath Jr. was also in the courtroom for Friday's brief court proceedings.