Stephen Monaghan

The offender pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Devon Cherrey-Rooke, who was killed on August 7, 2022, in London, Ontario.

The offender, who was heavily intoxicated on crystal methamphetamine and fentanyl, engaged in an unprovoked armed attack on an unarmed, vulnerable homeless victim following a dispute over a drug transaction.

The attack lasted approximately 26 seconds and involved six strikes with a sharp-bladed instrument and a final kick.

The victim sustained three sharp force wounds, including a stab wound to the left thigh that severed a major artery, resulting in fatal hemorrhagic shock.

The offender fled the scene without rendering assistance, changed his distinctive clothing, and was arrested eight days later.

The court imposed a custodial sentence of nine years, with credit for 1,103 days of pretrial custody at a rate of 1.5:1, resulting in a net sentence of approximately 4 years, 5 months to be served in a federal penitentiary.

The Crown sought a ruling on the admissibility of a 911 call and a police statement made by the accused’s spouse concerning a stabbing incident.

Because the couple married after the events but before trial, the spouse was incompetent to testify for the Crown under s. 4(1) of the Canada Evidence Act.

The Crown argued the statements should be admitted under the principled exception to the hearsay rule on the basis of necessity and reliability.

Applying the framework from Hawkins and Couture, the court held that the spousal incompetency rule must remain analytically distinct from hearsay analysis and that admitting the statements would undermine the rule’s underlying rationale of protecting marital harmony and preventing conscription of a spouse into the prosecution.

The proposed evidence was therefore inadmissible.