The Crown applied to admit hearsay statements of a deceased witness, Sarah Jane Bluecoat, in a first-degree murder trial.
Ms. Bluecoat's statements were taken on May 2, 2019 (typed Q&A), and later adopted under oath and video-recorded on August 3, 2021, after she initially declined on July 14, 2021.
The accused opposed the admission, arguing that necessity was not met due to the Crown's failure to preserve cross-examination rights (e.g., by proceeding with a preliminary inquiry or using s. 709 of the Criminal Code) and that the statements lacked threshold reliability.
The court found that necessity was established by the witness's death, distinguishing the case from prosecutorial "neglect." The court further found that both substantive and procedural reliability were met, allowing the jury a satisfactory basis to evaluate the evidence, despite the absence of contemporaneous cross-examination.
The Crown's application was granted.