Kimberly D. Hyslop

The offender, an aboriginal man with a lengthy criminal record, was convicted of aggravated assault, weapons offences, and breach of recognizance after stabbing a store owner during a dispute over a cell phone data plan.

The court considered Gladue factors, including the offender's history of abuse, bullying, and substance abuse, alongside the need for denunciation and deterrence.

The offender was sentenced to a global term of 33 months' imprisonment (credited as time served plus 6 additional months) followed by three years of probation.

The Crown applied for certiorari to overturn a preliminary inquiry judge's decision to discharge the respondent on first degree murder and commit her to stand trial for second degree murder.

The respondent had struck and killed the victim with her vehicle following a prolonged period of criminal harassment.

The Crown argued the preliminary inquiry judge committed jurisdictional error by impermissibly weighing competing inferences regarding whether the murder occurred while the respondent was committing criminal harassment.

The Superior Court dismissed the application, finding the preliminary inquiry judge properly conducted a limited weighing of the circumstantial evidence and made no jurisdictional error in concluding there was insufficient evidence of criminal harassment at the exact time of the murder.