Tara Cassidy

The offender pleaded guilty to manslaughter after an unprovoked physical altercation in a bank vestibule resulted in the victim's death from blunt force trauma.

The Crown sought 10 to 12 years' imprisonment, while the defence sought 5 to 8 years.

The court weighed the brutal and senseless nature of the attack against the offender's guilty plea, remorse, and harsh presentence custody conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The court imposed a sentence of 8 years' imprisonment before statutory credit for presentence custody.

The accused, charged with second degree murder following an unprovoked and fatal assault on a stranger, applied for judicial interim release.

The court reviewed the accused's extensive criminal record, history of breaching court orders, and the strength of the Crown's case.

The court found the proposed release plan, which relied on family members as sureties, insufficient to manage the risk.

The application was dismissed, and the accused was ordered detained on both the primary and secondary grounds.

The accused, a bar security guard, was charged with sexually assaulting a highly intoxicated patron in the back alleyway of the establishment.

The court applied the W.(D.) framework to assess the conflicting testimony of the complainant and the accused.

The court rejected the accused's exculpatory evidence as contradictory and unreliable, while finding the complainant's testimony credible and corroborated by circumstantial evidence and witness testimony.

The accused was found guilty of sexual assault.