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Murder, Manslaughter and Attempted Murder

The Charge

While all criminal charges will impact an accused’s life, there are some charges that will have such a massive impact, it is critical for a person charged to select an extremely effective and experienced lawyer. These charges include:

  • Murder (first and second degree);
  • Attempted Murder; and
  • Manslaughter

These are the more serious offences. A conviction will result in a jail sentence, possibly for life. The central issue in distinguishing between these offences comes down to whether the accused had the intention to kill or not. Section 229 of the Criminal Code sets out that a person will be guilty of murder where that person causes the death of another person and the accused meant to cause death or meant to cause bodily harm that he knew was likely to cause death.

Section 231 provides that all murder that is not “first degree” murder is “second degree.” First degree murder requires, not only that the Crown prove the “intention to kill” element, but the Crown must additionally prove that the accused “planned and deliberated” the killing. Courts have interpreted this to mean “considered not impulsive.” Though in proving this additional element the Crown must prove that the accused calculated, schemed, or thought out a plan to kill, the plan need not be a complicated one. It is open for a court to find that a simple plan that is formulated a very short time before the killing amounts to first degree murder.

The penalties for murder are severe. Both first and second-degree murder convictions require mandatory life sentences. For second degree murder, there is a minimum of 10 years before the offender can be considered for parole; for first degree, there is a minimum 25 years of parole ineligibility.

Attempted murder involves the accused having the intent to kill and, who by any means attempts to carry out an act that would kill, but ends up not resulting in the death of the intended victim. There is a mandatory life sentence of imprisonment upon conviction. There is no mandatory minimum period of parole ineligibility for attempted murder, unless the offence involves use of a firearm, in which case there is a mandatory minimum of 4 years in jail.

Section 236 of the Criminal Code sets out that a person convicted of manslaughter is liable to a mandatory life sentence of imprisonment. There is no mandatory minimum period of parole ineligibility for manslaughter, unless the offence involves the use of a firearm, in which case there is a mandatory minimum of 4 years in jail. The Crown is not required that the accused had the intent to kill in a manslaughter case. Rather, the Crown need only prove that the death was the result of an unlawful act, such as an intentional or reckless application of force (i.e. an assault) by the accused upon the victim and that bodily harm was reasonably foreseeable.

The Investigation

Because of the serious consequences to all parties involved in murder and manslaughter cases, police will conduct very thorough investigations into all aspects of the file. They will have to prove all essential elements of the offence, including the identity of the perpetrator; that the actions of the perpetrator in fact caused death (“causation”); and, in murder cases, that the perpetrator intended to cause death.

Identification

Various police investigative techniques involve gathering statements from any eyewitnesses or other people who can comment on the whereabouts of the suspect at relevant times. Where there are no eyewitnesses, police will focus on various forensic identification techniques such as attempting to match DNA, fingerprints, or shoeprints of the suspect to the crime scene. They will also try to obtain any video or photographic surveillance evidence.

Causation

In order to prove that it was the actions of the accused, and not some other intervening factor, that caused the death of the victim, Crown counsel will often introduce medial expert evidence from a pathologist who will offer the court an opinion as to the cause of death. The expert will typically rely on other forensic evidence, such as blood spatter and the nature of the victim’s injuries in order to establish that it was the accused’s actions that caused death.

Intention

Because the accused’s state of mind is integral to whether an accused is guilty of first degree or second-degree murder, or of manslaughter, police investigators will try to obtain evidence from all sources in order to prove their case. The sources may be “circumstantial” sources, such as the number of injuries to the victim, or the sources may be direct, such as statements from witnesses, or even more directly, statements from the accused. As criminal defence lawyers, we are very aware of how important it is to a murder/manslaughter case for police to attempt to obtain statements from their suspect. In addition to direct interview attempts, police will often attempt to obtain indirect statements from their suspect by obtaining “wiretap” authorizations in order to intercept telephone and computer communications. Police will also conduct clandestine surveillance of murder/manslaughter suspects in an effort to gather evidence relating to the issue of the suspect’s intention to kill.

Recent Successes

R. vs. L.W. – Vancouver Provincial Court

Charges: Aggravated Assault; Breach of Undertaking; Assault police officer; Mischief to property.
Issue: Given the seriousness of the facial injuries to the complainant and the ensuing assault of the arresting police officer, whether a lengthy prison sentence was appropriate.
Result: Mr. Gauthier was able to steer our client through an extensive program of rehabilitation and, after gearing Mr. Gauthier's submissions in a contested hearing, the Court granted our client a conditional sentence of only 3 months, followed by 2 years probation. No jail.

R. vs. T.J. – North Vancouver Provincial Court

Charge: Theft Under $5000.Issue: Whether there was substantial likelihood of a conviction.
Result: Mr. Gauthier provided information and made representations to Crown counsel which ultimately led Crown to agree that there was no reasonable likelihood of a conviction. Stay of proceedings. No criminal record.

R. vs. M.S. – Burnaby RCMP Investigation

Charges: Assault, mischief under $5000.
Issue: Whether it was in the public interest to proceed with the criminal prosecution.
Result: Mr. Mines was able to persuade the investigating  RCMP officer to allow our client tp apologize to the complainant through Restorative Justice. Police did not seek to have any criminal charges approved. No criminal record.

R. vs. I.K. – Vancouver Provincial Court

Charge: Fraud Over $5000.
Issue: Whether our client would be sentenced to a jail for this $10,000 fraud from his employer.
Result: Notwithstanding that our client had a previous criminal conviction for a similar breach of trust offence, Mr. Gauthier was able to persuade Crown counsel to not seek a jail sentence. After hearing Mr. Gauthier's submissions, the Court sentenced our client to a term of house arrest. No jail.

R. vs. K.Y. – Vancouver Provincial Court

Charges: Assault by choking (x2); assault (x2); mischief under $5000.
Issue: Whether it was in the public interest for the Court to enter a conviction against our client.
Result: Mr. Mines was able to persuade Crown counsel to proceed on only one count of common assault and to stay all remaining charges. After hearing Mr. Mines' submissions, the court granted our client a conditional discharge and placed him on probation for 12 months.No criminal conviction.

R. vs. T.F. – Vancouver Provincial Court

Charges: Theft Under $5,000, Obstructing a Peace Officer, Uttering Threats.

Issue: Whether a jail sentence was appropriate in all the circumstances.

Result: Mr. Johnston was able to direct our client to the appropriate community supports with respect to his rehabilitation. Given the positive change in our client's circumstances, the sentencing judge accepted Mr. Johnston's submission that a community based sentence was appropriate rather than the 60 jail sentence sought by the Crown. No jail.

R. vs. B.K. – Port Coquitlam Provincial Court

Charge: Assault.
Issue: Whether it was in the public interest for our client to be granted a conditional discharge.
Result: Mr. Gauthier was able to persuade Crown counsel to make a joint submission without the necessity of our client being required to complete counselling. After hearing Mr. Gauthier's submissions the court granted our client the discharge. No criminal conviction.

R. v. R.L. – New Westminster Supreme Court

Charge: Sexual Assault.
Issue: Whether there was a substantial likelihood of a conviction and whether it was in the public interest to continue with the prosecution in this retrial after a deadlocked jury decision.
Result: upon considering all of Mr. Mines' representations, Crown counsel entered a stay of proceedings. No jail. No criminal record.

R. vs. J.H. – Richmond Provincial Court

Charge: Sexual Assault.
Issue: Whether there was a substantial likelihood of a conviction and whether it was in the public interest to continue with the prosecution in this retrial after a deadlocked jury decision.
Result: upon considering all of Mr. Mines' representations, Crown counsel entered a stay of proceedings. No jail. No criminal record.

R. vs. B.J. – Downtown Community Court

Charge: Theft of property of a value not exceeding $5,000
Issue: Whether there was a substantial likelihood of conviction and whether it was in the public interest to proceed with the prosecution.
Result: Mr. Johnston identified weaknesses in the available video evidence which persuaded the Crown to direct a stay of proceedings on the charge. No jail. No criminal record.

R. vs. A.M. = Vancouver Provincial Court

Charges: Assault with a Weapon; Assault Causing Bodily Harm.
Issue: Whether there was a substantial likelihood of conviction and whether it was in the public interest to proceed with the prosecution.
Result: Mr. Johnston provided Crown counsel with information about our client’s circumstances, including his lack of prior criminal offending, his efforts at rehabilitation, and the fact that a conviction for either offence could result in the client’s deportation, an outcome which Mr. Johnston argued would be disproportionate to the seriousness of alleged offences. At the same time, Mr. Johnston pointed out weaknesses in the evidence against our client. The Crown directed stays of proceedings on both charges. No jail. No criminal record.

R. vs. A.V. – Vancouver Provincial Court

Charges: Uttering Threats x3; Criminal Harassment; Breach of Release Order (domestic).
Issue: Whether there was a substantial likelihood of conviction and whether it was in the public interest to proceed with the prosecution of these matters.
Result: Mr. Gauthier was able to persuade Crown counsel that it was more appropriate to deal with these matters in the context of Family Court. Ultimately Crown did not approve the uttering threats and criminal harassment charges and Mr. Gauthier persuaded Crown that there was no public interest in prosecuting the breach charge and to enter a stay of proceedings. No jail. No criminal record.

The Defence

Alibi

The defences in murder/manslaughter cases are numerous. There are defences aimed at every element that the Crown must prove. For example, on the issue of identification, it may be that the defence can present evidence of alibi. The defence may be able to bring witnesses to court to establish that the accused was elsewhere at the time of the incident.

Unreasonable Search

Section 8 of the Charter guarantees that everyone is free from unreasonable search and seizure. Our role, as experienced defence counsel, is to analyze the circumstances and, in appropriate cases, challenge the admissibility at trial of evidence that was gathered unlawfully by police. In essence, police must have “reasonable and probable grounds” to search. In many situations, such as where police want to search the private property of a suspect (i.e. their home or computer), prior judicial authorization is required in the form of a search warrant. Where police overreach their authority, and conduct a search based on something less than “reasonable and probable grounds,” we will apply to the court under s. 24(2) of the Charter to have the unlawfully obtained evidence excluded from the trial.

Self Defence

The law, under s. 34 of the Criminal Code, permits that if a person reasonably believes that force is being used (or threatened to be used) against them, they are allowed to use reasonable force to defend themselves, or another person, so long as the force they use is not excessive. Self-defence is available even where the force used results in the death of the other person, so long as the accused, in the course of being attacked, reasonably believed that they were facing imminent force. In determining whether the force used by the accused was excessive or not, the court will consider various circumstances including:

  • The nature of the force or threat;
  • The extent to which there was an alternative to using force;
  • The size, gender and physical capabilities of the parties; and
  • The history and relationship of the parties.

In essence, self-defence is available to a murder/manslaughter charge to the extent that the accused, objectively, had to defend themselves (or another person). The force used must not be excessive in the circumstances. As experienced defence lawyers, we have the skills to assess cases before they get to trial. We are committed to working with our clients to develop successful defences to all criminal charges, including the most serious accusations.

Start with a free consultation.

If you are being investigated by police or if you’ve been charged with a criminal or driving offence, don’t face the problem alone. Being accused of an offence is stressful. The prospects of a criminal record or jail sentence can be daunting. Even if you think there is no defence, we may be able to help. To schedule a free initial consultation with one of our Vancouver lawyers, contact us now.