Police investigate the scene after a fatal accident in Vaughan, Ont., north of Toronto, on Sunday.Pascal Marchand/The Canadian Press
A man accused in an alleged drunk driving crash that killed three children and their grandfather north of Toronto has had his court case adjourned until the new year.
Marco Muzzo appeared via video link at a courthouse in Newmarket, Ont., on Thursday, where his case was put over to Jan. 6.
Muzzo is expected to attend his next hearing in person. His lawyer would not comment on the case's progress.
The 29-year-old Muzzo has been charged with a dozen counts of impaired driving and six more charges of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle related to the incident.
Nine-year-old Daniel Neville-Lake, his five-year-old brother Harrison, their two-year-old sister Milly, and their 65-year-old grandfather Gary Neville died as a result of the Sept. 27 collision in Vaughan, Ont.
The children's grandmother and great-grandmother were also seriously injured in the crash.
Jennifer Neville-Lake, the children's mother, said the slow pace of the case was hard on the family.
"It's not very easy to come and to just sit and be told just wait, just wait," she said outside the courthouse. "It's been a pretty rough time. I'm not feeling very well, but it's my duty to be here, so here we are."
The children's parents have attended every one of Muzzo's court hearings to date.
When asked how she'd feel if Muzzo put in a guilty plea at his next court appearance, Neville-Lake said the development would at least signal movement in the case.
"If he puts in a plea then he puts in a plea," she said. "We would be at least able to move, not forward, but we wouldn't be stagnant."
Neville-Lake said it was somewhat of a relief to not have to attend a court hearing over the Christmas period, which is when her daughter Milly would have turned three, on Dec. 23.
"This is our first Christmas ever without our kids," she said. "I don't even really want to think about it."