The appellant appealed his guilty plea to manslaughter entered in 2001 for the death of a 13-month-old child.
The appeal arose from the reinvestigation of cases involving Dr. Charles Smith, a pathologist whose evidence regarding cause of death in children was later found to be unreliable.
The appellant had pleaded guilty based significantly on Dr. Smith's opinion that the child died from asphyxia caused by the appellant.
Fresh evidence established that Dr. Smith's conclusions were flawed and unsupported by the autopsy findings.
Multiple independent pathologists concluded the cause of death was unascertained.
The Crown conceded that Dr. Smith's flawed opinion played a significant role in the appellant's decision to plead guilty and agreed that it was in the interests of justice to set aside the conviction and order a new trial.
