Dr. Woodall

The accused was charged with three counts of second-degree murder for the killings of his partner and her two children.

The accused admitted to the killings but argued he lacked the requisite intent for murder due to a cocaine-induced psychosis.

The court rejected the intoxication defence, finding the accused's actions and post-offence conduct inconsistent with a psychotic state.

The court found the accused had the specific intent for murder for all three victims and found him guilty on all counts.

The accused was committed for trial on charges including manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm after providing cocaine laced with heroin to two women, resulting in one death and one coma.

The accused brought a certiorari application to quash the committals, arguing there was no evidence he intended to traffic heroin specifically, nor evidence of objective foresight of bodily harm.

The Superior Court dismissed the application, holding that the mens rea for trafficking does not require knowledge of the specific drug, and there was sufficient evidence of objective fault given the inherent dangers of street drugs and circumstantial evidence of the accused's knowledge.