The accused and the victim were intoxicated.
During an argument, the accused grabbed the victim by the throat and shook her, but claimed he blacked out before she died.
He was convicted of second degree murder at trial, but the Court of Appeal ordered a new trial, finding the jury was not properly instructed on the required intent.
The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the Crown's appeal and restored the conviction, holding that the intent to cause bodily harm knowing it is likely to cause death need not persist throughout the entire act of strangulation, so long as the mens rea and actus reus coincide at some point.
