[News]
 
February 25, 2000 
 

Homicide finding unusual in Ontario

By Nicolaas van Rijn 
Toronto Star Staff Reporter

A finding of homicide by a coroner's jury is extremely rare in Ontario, but it has happened before. 

In coroner's court, the word homicide is based on a classic - and neutral - dictionary definition: the killing of one human being by another. 

The jury at the coroner's inquest into Lisa Shore's death found she died by homicide. 

Dr. Bonita Porter, deputy chief coroner for inquests in Ontario, said yesterday she can only recall one other medical case in which a jury returned such a finding. 

That was just over a year ago, when a coroner's inquest called into the death of 11-month-old Trevor Landry at Peel Memorial Hospital found the little boy's death was a homicide. The jury found that Trevor, who was recovering from elective foot surgery, died of morphine toxicity. 

Trevor died on June 24, 1998, soon after he received a second morphine injection. No charges were laid against the nurse. 

A finding of homicide also was made last December by a coroner's inquest called into the Nov. 30, 1991, death of Kenneth Allen, a 32-year-old man who was high on cocaine when he was dragged into a police station by Toronto police Constable Paul Van Seters. 

 
   

   
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