Youth criminal trial on a charge of second degree murder arising from a fatal stabbing during a late-night marijuana transaction.
The defence asserted self-defence under s. 34 of the Criminal Code, alleging that the deceased and others lured the drug supplier to the residence in order to rob him and attacked the accused and the supplier without warning.
The court found the robbery scenario more likely than not, accepted that the accused acted for a defensive purpose, and held the Crown failed to disprove the reasonableness of the accused’s response in the circumstances, including his age, size, the sudden group assault, and lack of safe escape.
The accused was acquitted because the Crown failed to prove a culpable homicide beyond a reasonable doubt.
