The Crown brought a motion at a preliminary inquiry seeking an order to admit evidence of ten separate attacks on nine victims as similar act evidence on the question of identification against the accused.
The attacks occurred in the Parkdale area of Toronto between December 2009 and April 2011.
The accused was charged with two counts of assault, seven counts of assault causing bodily harm, and one count of second-degree murder.
The court granted the Crown's application, finding that the ten attacks demonstrated sufficient cumulative similarities to warrant admission as similar fact evidence, despite some dissimilarities in witness descriptions.
The court applied the test from R. v. Arp and R. v. Handy, examining proximity in time, similarity of detail, number of occurrences, and the balance of probative value against prejudicial effect.
