Yellowknife (July 16/03) - The four men charged with first-degree murder in the brutal slaying of Justin Hai Van Vo made their first appearance in territorial court Tuesday.

Each man has been charged separately. Brad Enge, executive director of Legal Aid, said there will be four separate preliminary inquiries and four trials.

"There's going to be four juries, and four judges and four lawyers," Enge said.

It's an expensive way to proceed, he said, noting that witnesses will have to testify eight times before all cases are concluded.

But Crown prosecutor Andrew Fox said the Crown hasn't decided how to continue.

"We're only at the beginning of the road," he said. "It's got a lot of different forks in it."

Fox said it's still possible to join the charges and try them together.

But it's unlikely there will be four preliminary inquires, he said.

One benefit of having separate trials is the Crown could compel the men to testify at each other's trials, he said.

Ultimately, the decision will be up to the court. "What the Crown wants is not necessarily what the Crown gets," he said.

"Right now to start talking about how the trials are going to happen is premature."

Legal aid has appointed lawyers for Richard Harrison Tutin, 44, Gerald Anthony Delorme, 36, and Francis Paul Yukon, 26.

Tutin, who will be represented by Jim Brydon, pleaded not guilty and has elected to be tried by judge and jury. The other men have yet to enter pleas.

Defence lawyer Tom Boyd is Yukon's lawyer. Austin Marshall will likely represent Delorme, who appeared in court wearing sunglasses.

The remaining accused, Dale Arnold Coutoreille, 42, wants to hire his own lawyer.

All four will be back in court July 29.