First degree murder

The court found Davy Hernandez Balan guilty of first degree murder in the death of Maxim Karyakin.

The main issue was whether Mr. Balan, who has a history of schizophrenia and previous findings of not criminally responsible due to mental disorder (NCR-MD), was criminally responsible for the killing.

The court accepted that Mr. Balan suffered from schizophrenia but was not satisfied that the mental disorder rendered him incapable of knowing his act was morally wrong.

The court found that the murder was planned and deliberate, and that Mr. Balan had the requisite intent for murder.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the appeals of David Beak and Yostin Murillo from their convictions for first degree murder and sexual assault in the killing of Rhoderie Estrada.

The court found that the trial judge’s instructions to the jury on constructive first degree murder, post-offence conduct, and the handling of evidence and objections were accurate and complete.

The grounds of appeal advanced by both appellants, including issues of causation, post-offence conduct, jury instructions, and procedural fairness, were all rejected.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed Jitesh Bhogal’s appeal from his conviction for first degree murder.

The appellant argued that the trial judge erred by not instructing the jury on the defence of extreme intoxication akin to automatism in relation to the alleged sexual assault, and by mischaracterizing expert evidence on the cause of death.

The Court found that there was no air of reality to the extreme intoxication defence on the evidence, and that any misstatements of the expert evidence did not cause substantial prejudice.

The conviction was upheld.

This sentencing decision concerns Noah Anderson and Junior Jahmal Harvey, who were convicted by a jury of the first-degree murder of Thane Murray and the attempted murder of Allen Uthayakumaran and Tony Nguyen.

The court imposed the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole eligibility for 25 years for first-degree murder and, after considering aggravating and mitigating factors, imposed concurrent life sentences for the two counts of attempted murder.

The reasons detail the circumstances of the offence, the profound impact on the victims and community, the backgrounds of the offenders, and the applicable sentencing principles and case law.

The sentencing reasons in this first-degree murder case reflect on the complexity of modern criminal trials, the evolution of the justice system, and the application of what the judge terms "spiritual laws" of truth and justice.

The judge, reflecting on a long career, discusses the facts and evidence that led to the conviction, the character and conduct of the accused, and the broader lessons for society.

The sentence imposed is life imprisonment without parole eligibility for 25 years, with ancillary orders including weapons prohibition and DNA order.

This decision concerns a judicial screening on a "faint hope" application under section 745.6 of the Criminal Code, in which Ronald Cyr seeks a reduction in his parole ineligibility period following a first-degree murder conviction.

The court reviews the statutory criteria, the facts of the offence, the applicant’s conduct and character, and the positions of the parties.

The judge finds that there is a reasonable prospect a jury could reduce the parole ineligibility period and orders that a jury be empaneled to hear the application.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed Adam Picard’s appeal from his conviction for first degree murder.

The court found that the trial judge did not err in excluding Picard’s prior consistent statements to his first lawyer, in instructing the jury on constructive first degree murder, or in the adequacy of the jury charge.

The decision provides a detailed analysis of the law on prior consistent statements, the requirements for constructive first degree murder under s. 231(5) of the Criminal Code, and the sufficiency of jury instructions in complex homicide cases.

The accused, O.W., was charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder in connection with a fatal shooting.

The Crown’s case was entirely circumstantial, relying on evidence of means, opportunity, motive, and post-offence celebratory conduct.

The central issue was the identity of the second shooter.

The court found significant gaps and inconsistencies in the evidence, particularly regarding motive and animus, and concluded that the Crown had not proven O.W.’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

O.W. was acquitted on both counts.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario allowed the Crown's appeal from sentence, finding that the sentencing judge erred by imposing a two-year weapons prohibition under s. 51(3) of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) following a youth's guilty plea to first-degree murder.

The Court held that the correct provision was s. 51(1), which requires a longer prohibition for offences subject to mandatory orders under s. 109 of the Criminal Code.

Both parties agreed to set aside the two-year prohibition and impose a 12-year weapons prohibition.

The Court substituted the appropriate order, noting the respondent's planning and aggravating circumstances.

The appellant, Travis Babbington, appealed his conviction for first degree murder.

He argued that the trial judge erred in admitting his post-arrest statement to police, in instructing the jury on planning and deliberation, in failing to caution the jury about prior consistent statements, and in instructing on eyewitness identification.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no error in the trial judge’s rulings or jury instructions.

The court sentenced Neng Jia Jin for the first degree murder of Vanessa Kurpiewska and the attempted murder of Sulakshana Srijeyarah, both committed on December 8, 2022, on Toronto public transit.

Jin pleaded guilty, avoiding a lengthy trial.

The mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole eligibility for 25 years was imposed for murder, and 20 years’ imprisonment (concurrent) for attempted murder.

The court reviewed the facts, victim impact, aggravating and mitigating factors, and relevant sentencing principles, emphasizing the gravity of the offences, the profound impact on victims and the community, and the need for denunciation and deterrence.

This decision concerns an application by Brandi Stewart-Sperry for a directed verdict following the close of the Crown’s case in a first-degree murder trial.

Stewart-Sperry argued that there was insufficient evidence for a properly instructed jury to convict her, particularly regarding her knowledge of the co-accused’s possession of a firearm and intent to shoot a police officer.

The court reviewed the legal principles for directed verdicts, the use of circumstantial and after-the-fact conduct evidence, and found that there was sufficient evidence on which a reasonable jury could convict.

The application was dismissed.

This decision concerns the prosecution of Archie McKay for five counts of first-degree murder following a fatal house fire in Kitchenuhkoosib Inninuwug, Ontario.

The court reviews extensive circumstantial evidence, including expert testimony, extrinsic misconduct, and ante-mortem statements, to determine whether McKay deliberately set the fire and possessed the requisite intent for murder.

The court finds McKay guilty of second-degree murder in relation to all five victims, concluding that the evidence does not establish planning and deliberation or criminal harassment necessary for first-degree murder.

The court considered a Crown application to admit hearsay statements made by the deceased to a friend, Rebecca Guindon, identifying O.W. as the perpetrator of a prior shooting, in a trial for first-degree murder and attempted murder.

The application was dismissed.

The court found that the statements lacked sufficient procedural and substantive reliability to be admitted for their truth under the principled exception to the hearsay rule.

The court also rejected their admissibility under the "state of mind" exception, finding the statements incapable of supporting the inferences the Crown sought regarding motive or animosity between the deceased and O.W.

The decision concerns a "faint hope" application by Timothy Belisle, convicted of first-degree murder, seeking a reduction in his parole ineligibility period after serving 15 years.

The court reviews the legislative history and legal standards for faint hope applications, the applicant’s background, conduct, and rehabilitation efforts, as well as the positions of both parties.

Ultimately, the court finds that Mr. Belisle has not demonstrated a reasonable prospect of success before a jury and dismisses the application.

This decision sets the period of parole ineligibility for Godfrey Sig-od, convicted of first-degree murder of his ex-wife and second-degree murder of his daughter.

The court reviews the facts, the character of the offender, the circumstances of the offence, the recommendations of the jury, and relevant case law.

The court imposes life imprisonment without parole for 25 years for the first-degree murder and life imprisonment with parole ineligibility for 18 years for the second-degree murder, emphasizing the gravity of the offence, breach of trust, and the need for denunciation and deterrence.

The applicants, Dennis Singh and Justin Sandassie, challenged the constitutionality of the mandatory life sentence without parole eligibility for 25 years for first degree murder under section 745(a) of the Criminal Code.

The court reviewed the facts of the offence, the parties' positions, and the binding Supreme Court of Canada precedents.

The application was dismissed, with the court holding that the mandatory minimum sentence remains constitutionally valid and is not grossly disproportionate or overbroad under the Charter.

The appellant, Sasikaran Thanapalasingam, appealed his conviction for first-degree murder of his wife, Tharshika Jeganathan.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the appeal, finding no error in the trial judge’s analysis or conclusions.

The court held that the evidence overwhelmingly supported the finding that the murder was planned and deliberate, and that the appellant’s intoxication did not impair his capacity to form the requisite intent.

The trial judge’s consideration of the evidence, including the impact of alcohol and alleged mental disturbance, was thorough and appropriate.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed Mauro Granados-Arana’s conviction appeal for first degree murder, finding no reversible error in the trial judge’s Vetrovec instructions regarding unsavoury witnesses.

The court allowed the sentence appeal, quashing the order that parole ineligibility run consecutively to a prior sentence, in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in R. v. Bissonnette.

The period of parole ineligibility will now run concurrently.

This sentencing decision concerns two co-accused, Tafari Bezabeh and Justin Harker, convicted by a jury of attempt murder and first degree murder arising from two closely connected shootings in Toronto on June 19, 2022.

The court reviews the facts, aggravating and mitigating circumstances, and the applicable case law, ultimately imposing life imprisonment for both offences, with no parole eligibility for 25 years on the murder count and a concurrent life sentence for attempt murder.

The decision emphasizes the need for denunciation and deterrence in the context of planned, public gun violence.