Hired hitman or failed carjacker: Jurors hear final arguments in Calgary murder trial

February 26, 2025 Canuck

The lawyer for the man accused of murdering a woman and trying to kill her husband argued the prosecution’s theory of the fatal shooting being a paid hit “doesn’t make sense.”

Michael Arnold, 36, is on trial for the first-degree murder of Nakita Baron and the attempted murder of Baron’s husband, Talal Fouani, who were shot as they sat in their Bentley outside their home in the southwest community of Evergreen in August 2022.

Closing arguments took place Wednesday. On Thursday, jurors will receive final instructions on how to apply the law to their deliberations before they are sequestered until a verdict is reached.

The Crown’s theory is that Fouani — who was involved in organized crime money laundering — was the intended target of an execution-style shooting.

‘Doesn’t make sense to me’

But in her closing arguments to the jury on Wednesday, defence lawyer Kathryn Quinlan argued the idea of Arnold being chosen by an organized crime enterprise to carry out a hit “doesn’t make sense.”

“Why would they choose a meth addict with less than $11 in his bank account?” she asked.

Quinlan suggested Arnold isn’t the reliable, trustworthy murderer-for-hire who would have been needed for the hit, pointing out Arnold used a women’s bra as a gun holster and brought his dog to the shooting because he was homeless.

“Does that make sense to you?” she asked. “Because It doesn’t make sense to me.”

‘This was never a carjacking gone wrong’

But prosecutor Hyatt Mograbee argued Arnold took several “careful steps” to carry out his “crafty” plan.

“This was never a carjacking gone wrong,” said Mograbee. “Preparations were done in advance.”

A man and woman pose together for a selfie. — Talal Fouani, left, was in hospital after the shooting that killed his wife, Nakita. (Nakita Baron/Instagram)

Security footage from Fouani’s neighbours showed Arnold in the nieghbourhood 12 times in the weeks leading up to the shooting.

Mograbee argued that Arnold had several opportunities to steal Fouani’s Bentley.

The most obvious one, said Mograbee, would have been during the 10 minutes Fouani was in his driveway dusting off the vehicle right before Baron got into the vehicle. Instead, Arnold — who was disguised as a construction worker at the time — approached the car as it backed down the driveway, commanding it to stop.

The moments leading up to a deadly ambush in a Calgary suburb

2 years ago

Duration 0:15

CCTV footage shows a person approaching a vehicle as it backs out of a driveway seconds before shots are fired

Video of the incident was captured on a neighbour’s security camera. It shows that when Fouani put his window down, Arnold shot him in the face. He then shot Baron.

Arnold testified that before he fired his gun, as part of his carjacking plan, he ordered Fouani to “get the f–k out of the car.”

‘You won’t hear it’

But Arnold can’t be heard saying anything to the victims on the video.

“Listen to the video,” Mograbee urged jurors. “You can hear the birds chirping, you can hear the gun hit the pavement.

“Listen to that video, you won’t hear it. Why? Because it wasn’t said.”

Arnold testified Fouani raised his hand, and said he panicked, thinking his victim might grab the gun. So he fired a shot. He said he fired a second shot after he saw movement in his peripheral vision.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Arnold, who had his dog Jazz in tow, picked her up and fled the scene in his stolen Mitsubishi.

‘A quick getaway’

The prosecutor asked jurors to consider the fact that Arnold left the Mitsubishi running, with it angled away from Fouani’s house.

“It’s because he wants to make a quick getaway,” said Mograbee.

Arnold headed back to Edmonton after discarding evidence like the gun and his disguise.

Two different photos of a man with red hair. — Michael Tyrel Arnold is on trial charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder. (Edmonton Police Service)

Back in Edmonton, Arnold accidentally recorded a conversation with a friend in the days after the shooting, which was ultimately recovered by police.

On the recording, while talking about the shooting, Arnold mentions “the job,” which the Crown says is evidence Arnold had been hired to kill Fouani and Baron.

‘Why would he stop at the two shots?’

The audio, said Quinlan, is a “jumbled mess” with lost words and topics that jump around. She urged jurors not to put weight on the taped conversation.

The defence lawyer also pointed out that police searched Arnold’s bank records and found no evidence he was ever paid for the crime.

If Arnold was paid to kill Fouani and Baron, why then did his gun still have nine bullets left, Quinlan questioned.

“If Mr. Arnold was there to kill Mr. Fouani or Ms. Baron or both … why would he stop at the two shots?” Quinlan posed to jurors.

“It would be easy to fire more shots to ensure death.”

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