Carolynn Conron

The applicant, who was shot during a home invasion, brought a Charter application to exclude drug evidence seized during a warrantless search of his girlfriend's apartment.

The police obtained a signed consent to search from the girlfriend, but the applicant argued her consent was neither informed nor voluntary.

The court found the consent was validly obtained and that the applicant had only a limited privacy interest in the apartment.

The court concluded there was no breach of section 8 of the Charter, and alternatively, the evidence would not be excluded under section 24(2).

The application was dismissed.

The Crown sought to introduce three categories of bad character evidence at the accused's trial for first-degree murder and indignity to a human body: statements made to a psychiatric nurse about killing and cannibalism, handwritten rap lyrics, and a photograph of a fictional serial killer.

The court first ruled that the Crown's allegation of cannibalism was too speculative to be placed before the jury.

However, the court admitted the statements to the nurse and the rap lyrics, finding that their probative value regarding motive, intent, and planning outweighed their prejudicial effect, provided a limiting instruction is given.

The photograph was excluded due to its low probative value and high potential for prejudice.