The applicant sought to quash a preliminary inquiry order committing him to stand trial for second degree murder arising from the death of his infant child.
He argued the preliminary inquiry justice committed a jurisdictional error by failing to consider his exculpatory statement that the injuries resulted from an accidental fall during bathing.
The court held that the preliminary inquiry justice properly considered both inculpatory circumstantial evidence and exculpatory direct evidence in accordance with the test articulated in R. v. Arcuri.
The expert medical evidence describing the severity and nature of the injuries, combined with conflicting statements by the applicant, was reasonably capable of supporting an inference of intentional infliction of injuries.
As a result, the committal for trial was proper and no jurisdictional error occurred.
