Lisa Mariko Ellins

R.O., a 14-year-old at the time of the offence, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder of 14-year-old Devan Selvey.

The court considered aggravating factors, including the senseless nature of the crime and R.O.'s flight, and mitigating factors, such as his guilty plea and significant personal challenges.

Applying the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) principles, particularly diminished moral culpability and rehabilitation, the court accepted a joint submission for the maximum youth sentence: a seven-year Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision (IRCS) order, comprising four years in custody (with 24 months credit for pre-sentence custody) and three years under conditional supervision, along with a lifetime weapons prohibition and no-contact order.

In this joint trial, the Crown charged two defendants with assault causing bodily harm to a third party.

The victim was assaulted in the foyer of her residence in the early morning hours of August 2, 2017.

The court applied the W.(D.) framework to assess credibility and determine guilt separately for each accused.

The evidence established that one defendant delivered the blows causing bodily harm (two broken front teeth and a laceration), while the other defendant engaged in a single punch exchange with the victim that caused no significant injury.

The court found that the defendant who delivered the serious blows was guilty as a principal to assault causing bodily harm and also guilty of breaching four probation orders.

The other defendant was found guilty of simple assault only, as the Crown failed to prove she was a party to the more serious assault.

The accused was charged with impaired driving after being observed operating a motor vehicle errationally on July 8, 2015.

She provided breath samples showing blood alcohol concentrations of 267 and 288 mg per 100 ml of blood.

The defence raised the issue of automatism arising from parasomnia (sleepwalking), arguing that the accused's actions were involuntary.

The court found that the accused had a documented history of parasomnia episodes triggered by stress and anxiety, had been fatigued from a long drive, had not used her sleep apnea device, and had ingested sleep medication.

Expert evidence and observations by the arresting officer supported the conclusion that the accused was in a dissociative state.

The court found the automatism to be a disease of the mind and rendered a verdict of Not Criminally Responsible.