Evidence will show a Toronto rap artist shot and killed two young women at a short-term rental property in Fort Erie almost five years ago, a Crown attorney said Tuesday.

Christopher Lucas, a musician known by the stage name “El Paga,” has pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in connection to the deaths of 18-year-old Toronto woman Christine Crooks and 20-year-old Juliana Pannunzio of Windsor.

“It is important that you do not rely on any stereotypes or impressions you may have about a Black rapper from the Greater Toronto Area in deciding this case,” assistant Crown attorney Jody Ostapiw told a jury in Superior Court of Justice in Welland.

The young women’s bodies were discovered Jan. 19, 2021, after Niagara Regional Police were called to the rental property on Niaga

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