Yellowknife (July 28/04) - A Supreme Court justice has upheld a publication ban on the facts surrounding the murder of a Yellowknife drug dealer last summer.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was seeking permission to broadcast the details of plea agreements reached by two men convicted of accessory to murder in the death of reputed crack-cocaine dealer Justin Hai Van Vo.

Vo's charred remains were found near the Yellowknife River bridge on June 16, 2003.

Richard Tutin, Dale Coutoreille, Francis Yukon and Gerald Delorme were originally charged with first degree murder in the case.

Tutin and Coutoreille each pleaded guilty to accessory charges relating to the case earlier this year.

Currently Delorme and Yukon are awaiting trial for first degree murder.

In a decision filed July 22, Supreme Court Justice Virginia Schuler said releasing the details of Vo's death would prejudice the juries in the Delorme and Yukon trials.

"Potential jurors could be exposed to an incomplete or even misleading picture of (the) facts," Schuler wrote.

"The specifics of this case... require a ban so as to protect the fair trial rights of the accused who have yet to be tried," she concluded.

The publication ban will remain in effect until Yukon and Delorme stand trail in November.