Two brothers are each facing a first degree murder charge in the Saturday stabbing death of Nick Tanti.
Aidan Kee, 26, and Angus Kee, 22, each made an appearance by video in bail court on Monday.
The co-accused are being held in separate units at Maplehurst Correctional Complex and are banned from communicating with each other, except through legal counsel.
When Aidan first appeared on screen, Tanti’s mother Sharon stood up in court, holding a framed photograph of her son. Sharon stood silent, shaking at times, while justice of the peace Mike Cuthbertson considered each of the two bail hearings.
Sharon was supported in court by her daughter’s fiancee and one of her son’s friends.
Family members of the accused who were sitting in the front left of the court room on Monday sat silently and later denied a request by media to be interviewed after the hearing.
A short verbal altercation between the two families ensued as they left the courtroom and headed to the parking lot.
Guelph Police say three men were involved in a disturbance in front of Tony’s Billiards on Macdonell Street at about 2 a.m. on Saturday. Tanti was stabbed in the altercation and died a short time later in hospital.
In a news release sent Monday, Guelph Police said the victim and co-accused were known to each other and that this was an isolated incident which does not pose a risk to public safety.
During the bail hearing on Monday, Aidan was clean-shaven with short blonde-brown hair and had a black eye when appearing on screen.
Angus appeared on-screen later with a beard and shoulder-length blonde hair.
The brothers are each under a court order to not communicate with each other, except through legal counsel. Each of the co-accused will remain in custody and will next appear in court March 16.
Duty council represented the two accused on Monday but court heard they have both retained legal counsel.
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