Two accused were convicted at trial of second degree murder in the death of a child and the provincial appellate court substituted first degree murder convictions under the unlawful confinement provision.
The Court confirmed that an appeal as of right after a substituted guilty verdict is limited to legal questions tied to that substituted verdict, while challenges to the affirmed lesser convictions require leave.
It also confirmed the provincial appellate court had jurisdiction over the Crown appeals from acquittals on first degree murder and upheld the substituted first degree murder verdicts.
The Court held that unlawful confinement was established in the parent-child context and that confinement and murder formed part of the same transaction.
