Amina Djukic

Following a trial, the offender was convicted of attempted murder and breaching a recognizance for brutally assaulting a five-year-old child and leaving him for dead in an isolated area.

The Crown applied for a dangerous offender designation under section 753(1)(a)(iii) of the Criminal Code.

The court rejected the dangerous offender application, finding that while the conduct was undoubtedly brutal, the psychiatric evidence did not compel the conclusion that the offender's future behaviour would be unlikely to be inhibited by normal standards of behavioural restraint.

However, the court imposed a life sentence based on the extreme brutality of the offence, the vulnerability of the victim, the breach of trust, the premeditated nature of the crime, and the offender's high risk of violent reoffending as established by actuarial assessment.

The court declined to impose a parole eligibility delay under section 743.6, finding that a life sentence adequately addressed the sentencing objectives of denunciation and deterrence.

The Crown applied under section 486.2(2) of the Criminal Code for Lindsay Smith, a key witness and former intimate partner of the accused, to testify via closed circuit television (CCTV) in a trial for failing to remain at the scene of an accident causing death.

The application was supported by evidence from a Victim Witness Services Worker, who described Ms. Smith’s anxiety and safety concerns.

The defence opposed, arguing Ms. Smith was no longer intimidated.

The court granted the application, finding that testifying by CCTV would facilitate a full and candid account and was in the interests of justice, especially given the context of intimate partner violence and the need to encourage survivor participation in the justice process.

The defendant pleaded guilty to manslaughter with a firearm following a planned home invasion that resulted in a fatal shooting and assault.

The court considered aggravating factors, including the planned nature of the home invasion, the use of a loaded prohibited firearm, the defendant's leadership role, and the severe impact on victims.

Mitigating factors included the guilty plea, lack of adult criminal record, youth, and harsh pre-sentence custody conditions.

The court imposed an 11-year sentence, less credit for pre-sentence custody, emphasizing denunciation, deterrence, and public protection.