The Crown brought an application to admit three prior out-of-court statements made by the deceased victim, Peter Kostopoulos, for the truth of their contents under the principled approach to hearsay.
The victim had been assaulted and died months later.
While necessity was conceded due to the victim's death, the court assessed threshold reliability.
The court found significant concerns regarding the reliability of the statements, including inconsistencies in the victim's descriptions of assailants and events, vague eyewitness details, a possible language barrier, and a potential motive to lie due to animus towards "homeless people." Furthermore, video evidence contradicted parts of the victim's statements, particularly regarding his own actions during the altercation.
The court concluded that the alternative explanations for the statements' accuracy or truthfulness could not be ruled out, and admitting them would impede the defence's ability to challenge the evidence.
The Crown's application was dismissed.
