Sheila Cressman

During a trial for two counts of first degree murder, the Crown sought to cross-examine the accused on text messages and a video clip suggesting he possessed a firearm prior to the homicides.

The court ruled that the Crown could not suggest inferences from the text messages, as it would operate unfairly.

However, the court allowed the jury to consider the video clip showing the accused allegedly pointing a firearm, finding it admissible as evidence of access to means and that its probative value outweighed its prejudicial effect.

The accused, charged with two counts of first degree murder, applied for a directed verdict of acquittal at the close of the Crown's case.

The Crown's case relied on circumstantial evidence, including video surveillance, cell phone records, and expert evidence on the 'code of silence' to establish motive and opportunity.

The court applied the test for a directed verdict, assessing whether a reasonable jury, properly instructed, could convict based on the available evidence and reasonable inferences.

The court found that the totality of the direct and circumstantial evidence provided a sufficient basis for a jury to find the essential elements of the offences proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

The application was dismissed.

The offender, suffering from untreated schizophrenia, attacked a police officer from behind with a sledge hammer in a police station lobby, attempting 'suicide by cop'.

He was convicted of assault causing bodily harm and weapons offences.

The court weighed the severe psychological impact on the victim and the unprovoked nature of the attack against the offender's mental illness and remorse.

The court sentenced the offender to 18 months in custody, in addition to 45 months of pre-sentence custody credit, followed by three years of probation with strict treatment conditions.

During a jury trial for first degree murder, the accused brought a pre‑trial application seeking to adduce third‑party suspect evidence implicating other individuals in the killings.

The proposed evidence relied primarily on a witness’s recorded police statement alleging that one individual had confessed to committing the murders.

The court conducted a detailed hearsay analysis and held that the statement lacked threshold reliability due to the witness’s motive to fabricate, serious drug abuse, extensive criminal record, inconsistencies in her accounts, and the absence of meaningful cross‑examination.

The alleged confession was also inadmissible both as a declaration against penal interest and under the principled hearsay exception.

The court further declined to relax evidentiary rules for defence evidence because the statements were inherently unreliable.

The accused was charged with first-degree murder.

Prior to jury selection, the court heard three evidentiary applications.

The accused sought to exclude text messages based on authorship and hearsay.

The Crown sought to admit ante-mortem statements of the deceased under the principled approach to hearsay, and evidence of the accused's discreditable conduct to establish motive.

The court admitted the text messages, finding sufficient evidence of authorship.

The court admitted the ante-mortem statements, finding they met the threshold reliability test.

The court admitted some discreditable conduct evidence (prior gun possession, code of silence) as highly probative of motive, but excluded evidence of gang affiliation and drug trafficking as overly prejudicial.