The Crown brought pre‑trial applications seeking rulings on the admissibility of a transcript from prior family law proceedings between the accused and the complainant, and a 911 recording made immediately after the alleged stabbing.
The court held that the family court transcript was admissible to prove what was said at the hearing and to support a potential motive, though not for the truth of its contents, and that certain portions should be redacted.
The court also admitted the 911 recording under the res gestae exception to the hearsay rule, finding it was a spontaneous statement made contemporaneously with the alleged offence and highly probative of the circumstances of the attack.
The court concluded that the probative value of the recording outweighed any prejudicial effect and that the audio recording, rather than the transcript containing descriptive annotations, should be presented to the jury.
