Former Newfoundland star athlete pleads not guilty to first-degree murder

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — The daughter of a one-time top public servant in Newfoundland and Labrador has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.

Five weeks have been set aside for the trial of Anne Norris, a 29-year-old former leading athlete, to start on Jan. 15 of next year.

Norris, who appeared in the province’s Supreme Court on Monday, is charged in the death of 46-year-old Marcel Reardon, whose body was found outside a downtown apartment building on May 9.

Residents who saw the body told reporters he appeared to have been badly beaten.