Eric Robert Achille Buzzin

The court found Davy Hernandez Balan guilty of first degree murder in the death of Maxim Karyakin.

The main issue was whether Mr. Balan, who has a history of schizophrenia and previous findings of not criminally responsible due to mental disorder (NCR-MD), was criminally responsible for the killing.

The court accepted that Mr. Balan suffered from schizophrenia but was not satisfied that the mental disorder rendered him incapable of knowing his act was morally wrong.

The court found that the murder was planned and deliberate, and that Mr. Balan had the requisite intent for murder.

Delroy Desmond sought a stay of charges (firearm trafficking, possession) under s. 11(b) of the Charter, alleging unreasonable delay.

The total delay was 40 months, exceeding the 30-month presumptive ceiling for Superior Court.

The court found that while there were periods of defence unavailability, the primary cause of the delay pushing the case over the limit was the Crown's inadvertent disclosure of an unredacted Information to Obtain (ITO) revealing a confidential source.

This necessitated defence counsel's withdrawal and a new trial date.

The court ruled this was not an exceptional circumstance excusing the Crown, as it was within Crown control and avoidable.

Consequently, the s. 11(b) right was violated, and a stay of proceedings was ordered.

The trial addressed equalization of net family property, child support, and spousal support.

The court found no equalization payment owing as the respondent's taxi business in Cuba, purchased with personal injury damages, was excluded property.

Retroactive child support was awarded to the applicant based on imputed income for the respondent's undeclared cash earnings.

Retroactive and ongoing compensatory spousal support was also awarded to the applicant, with the court departing from the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines due to economic disadvantages and financial hardship arising from her traditional caregiving role during the marriage.