This criminal trial concerned charges of trafficking fentanyl, manslaughter, and criminal negligence causing death against the accused.
The charges arose from the overdose death of Rachel Cook.
The court analyzed circumstantial evidence, including text messages and expert testimony, to determine if the accused trafficked fentanyl to the deceased and if this act caused her death.
The court found that the only reasonable inference was that the accused trafficked fentanyl to the deceased, which caused her death.
The court also found that the accused's conduct met the mens rea requirements for manslaughter (objective foreseeability of non-trivial bodily harm) and criminal negligence causing death (marked and substantial departure from a reasonable person's conduct).
