The accused was tried for trafficking and unlawful act manslaughter arising from a fatal overdose allegedly caused by a same-day drug transaction.
The Crown's theory depended on proving that the particular mixture found in the deceased's wallet and blood — cocaine, fentanyl, and U-47700 — was the same substance sold by the accused.
Applying the circumstantial evidence framework, the court held that guilt was not the only reasonable inference because the evidence left open reasonable possibilities that the deceased obtained or consumed other drugs, particularly during an unobserved period before he was found unresponsive.
Although the court accepted the pathology evidence that acute toxicity from the detected substances significantly contributed to death, it was not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused trafficked that particularized substance.
The accused was acquitted on both counts.
