R. v. Neudorf (T.J.), (2004) 200 B.C.A.C. 274 (CA)

• Judge: Rowles, Hall and Levine, JJ.A.
• Court: Court of Appeal (British Columbia)
• Case Date: June 25, 2004
• Jurisdiction: British Columbia
• Citations: (2004), 200 B.C.A.C. 274 (CA);2004 BCCA 374

R. v. Neudorf (T.J.) (2004), 200 B.C.A.C. 274 (CA);

    327 W.A.C. 274

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2004] B.C.A.C. TBEd. JL.031

Regina (respondent) v. Tyler James Neudorf (appellant)

(CA031330; 2004 BCCA 374)

Indexed As: R. v. Neudorf (T.J.)

British Columbia Court of Appeal

Rowles, Hall and Levine, JJ.A.

June 25, 2004.

Summary:

The accused pleaded guilty to manslaugh­ter. The sentencing judge sentenced him to seven years' imprisonment after crediting him for 18 months in pre-trial custody. The accused appealed his sentence.

The British Columbia Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and reduced the sentence to six years' imprisonment.

Criminal Law - Topic 5848.2

Sentencing - Considerations - Time already served - The accused (then aged 20) strangled his common law partner (Faulkner) to the point of unconsciousness, with loss of the gag reflex - The accused went to sleep - He subsequently saw Faulkner slumped on her side, but did not check on her or summon assistance - At some point, Faulkner aspirated stomach contents which obstructed her airway and caused her death - The accused placed Faulkner's body and some of her belong­ings in a creek and diverted suspicion from himself - He pleaded guilty to manslaugh­ter - He had no criminal record - To denounce the accused's post-offence con­duct, the sentencing judge refused to give the accused additional credit for 18 months of pre-trial custody - The sentencing judge sentenced the accused to seven years' imprisonment - The British Columbia Court of Appeal held that denunciation of post-offence conduct was an irrelevant factor in determining the appropri­ate credit for pre-trial custody - The appro­priate credit was 30 months, which reflected the fact that the accused took some programs while in pre-trial custody - The court reduced the sentence to six years' impris­onment.

Criminal Law - Topic 5882

Sentence - Manslaughter - [See Criminal Law - Topic 5848.2 ].

Cases Noticed:

R. v. Archibald (R.J.) (1992), 15 B.C.A.C. 301; 27 W.A.C. 301 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Klassen (R.J.), [1997] Y.J. No. 4 (S.C.), affd. (1997), 95 B.C.A.C. 136; 154 W.A.C. 136 (Yuk. C.A.), leave to appeal refused (1997), 225 N.R. 240; 109 B.C.A.C. 160; 177 W.A.C. 160 (S.C.C.), refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Williams (G.M.) (1995), 61 B.C.A.C. 6; 100 W.A.C. 6 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Stone (B.T.), [1999] 2 S.C.R. 290; 239 N.R. 201; 123 B.C.A.C. 1; 201 W.A.C. 1, refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. McCulloch (D.I.) (2001), 153 B.C.A.C. 32; 251 W.A.C. 32; 2001 BCCA 196, refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Wildeman (G.A.) (2002), 173 B.C.A.C. 214; 283 W.A.C. 214; 2002 BCCA 112, refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Mintert (R.) (1995), 57 B.C.A.C. 232; 94 W.A.C. 232 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Bathe (C.J.) (2000), 145 B.C.A.C. 291; 237 W.A.C. 291; 2000 BCCA 559, refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Green (O.R.) (2001), 160 B.C.A.C. 121; 261 W.A.C. 121; 2001 BCCA 672, refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Ellsworth (M.), [2003] B.C.T.C. 1315; 2003 BCSC 1315, refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Cairns (R.S.) (2004), 197 B.C.A.C. 252; 323 W.A.C. 252; 2004 BCCA 219, refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Mills (D.J.) (1999), 119 B.C.A.C. 284; 194 W.A.C. 284; 133 C.C.C.(3d) 451; 1999 BCCA 159, refd to. [para. 39].

R. v. Rezaie (M.) (1996), 96 O.A.C. 268; 31 O.R.(3d) 713; 112 C.C.C.(3d) 97 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 40].

R. v. Wust (L.W.), [2000] 1 S.C.R. 455; 252 N.R. 332; 134 B.C.A.C. 236; 219 W.A.C. 236; 2000 SCC 18, refd to. [para. 40].

Counsel:

R.J. Browning, for the appellant;

W.J.S. Bell, for the respondent.

This appeal was heard at Vancouver, British Columbia, before Rowles, Hall and Levine, JJ.A., of the British Columbia Court of Appeal. Rowles, J.A., delivered the fol­lowing oral reasons for judgment on June 25, 2004.