HUNTER: The Millennium Bonnie and Clyde murder trial finally begins

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The two accused killers have attracted worldwide media attention.

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But on Tuesday, Oliver Carafa and Lucy Lee, the couple dubbed the “Millennium Bonnie and Clyde” by the Toronto Sun, were back in full force in an antiseptic Hamilton courtroom on trial.

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Jury selection concluded Tuesday with the crown's opening statement. The trial is expected to last two months.

Lee, the daughter of a wealthy businesswoman with close ties to the Liberal Party, and her boyfriend, Karafa, are charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder in the Feb. 28, 2021, shooting death of 39-year-old Tyler Pratt in Stone Creek. Pratt's 26-year-old pregnant daughter-in-law was also shot in the heart. He survived. She had no unborn child.

They pleaded not guilty.

According to the Hamilton Spectator, the Crown said in its opening statement that Carafa and Lee befriended Pratt, a recent BC transplant, and his fiancée, Jordyn Romano, last October.

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On the night of the shooting, the four were in Stony Creek to discuss a marijuana business. Instead, Pratt was shot six times.

“Jordyn Romano should have died that day, too,” Assistant Crown Attorney Steve Kim told the court, as reported by the Spectator. “Miraculously, he survived being shot in the heart and not killed by two more shots fired into the car he was in.”

Karafa, the crown said, was the trigger.

Pratt told the couple he had a lot of money to invest as a result of the BC drug trade. According to prosecutors, one of Carafa's tricks was to get Pratt to invest $470,000 in a private defense business in Europe. He was expected to be paid the day after he was killed.

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Lee also engaged in fraud, Kim told the court, with a false life insurance offer. The one-time influencer told Pratt and Romano that his wealthy mother owned the building where they met.

After the deal fell through, Lee said he ordered dinner for the quartet. But it was all part of an evil plan, says Coron.

After the shooting, Kim said Carafa bought his friend's mother's Audi for $10,000. Police found an Audi with Pratt's blood on the hood.

Hamilton homicide detectives led by Det. Sergeant. Jim Callender zeroed in on the two luxury-loving couples in 24 hours, but in that time the pair flew by.

Their next stop was Montreal, where they boarded a plane to Frankfurt, Germany, before fleeing to Slovenia, where Karafa's parents live. Lee and Karafa did not stay long and soon moved to Budapest.

Six months later, the couple was arrested by the Hungarian police. He did not fight extradition to Canada. He did.

He was granted bail in January 2022 under strict conditions. But in May 2023, Lee was arrested “for failing to comply with his release conditions” and returned to prison to await his trial.

The trial continues on Wednesday.

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@HunterTOSun

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