The Crown appealed the dismissal of its application for certiorari to quash a preliminary inquiry judge's decision to commit the accused for manslaughter rather than murder.
The accused was charged in the death of his severely disabled brother, who died from starvation and infected bedsores.
The Court of Appeal held that the preliminary inquiry judge committed a jurisdictional error by weighing the evidence and determining that gross negligence did not equate to the mens rea for murder, rather than assessing whether a jury could reasonably infer the requisite intent.
The appeal was allowed, and the accused was committed to stand trial for second-degree murder.
