Three rows in a Barrie courtroom were filled with the friends and family of Kassidi Coyle at a brief court appearance Wednesday morning.

The Crown told the court it is “moving ahead” with a DNA warrant for the accused, Shawn Roy, and that the results of the DNA testing should be available in the next few weeks.

The first judicial pre-trial — a routinely ordered closed door meeting between the lawyers and the judge to discuss the case — is scheduled for the end of March.

A trial date has not yet been set.

Kassidi, 20, died by suicide months after the alleged sexual assault on July 1, 2016. Her mother Judi Coyle fears that the case may not proceed to trial without Kassidi’s testimony.

A publication ban on Kassidi’s identity was lifted by the court last month at Coyle’s request.

Roy’s lawyer, David Wilcox, has said his client maintains he did not commit the alleged sexual assault and that the Crown’s decision on whether to proceed with the case depends on the evidence they have.

The case is next in court on March 30.

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.