A high profile case that ended in an acquittal at Nova Scotia Supreme Court is being appealed.
Markel Jason Downey, 20, was found not guilty of 28 charges – including three counts of attempted murder – stemming from a home invasion in Cole Harbour, N.S. in November 2014.
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During the home invasion, three people were shot, including Ashley MacLean Kearse, who was left paralyzed from the chest down and is confined to a wheelchair.
She was the Crown’s star witness in the case and was the only witness to testify who identified Downey as the alleged shooter at his trial.
Justice Michael Wood delivered a not guilty verdict in the case on Feb 24.
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A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service says the grounds of appeal in the case are as follows:
- The Supreme Court Judge erred in law by concluding the evidence of identification in the ambulance was only relevant to recent fabrication rather than to identification overall.
- The Supreme Court Judge erred in law in finding the identification of the other three assailants was irrelevant to the reliability analysis.
- The Supreme Court Judge erred in law by considering irrelevant evidence in assessing the reliability of the evidence of identification of Ashley MacLean.
- The Supreme Court Judge erred in law by considering the wrong legal test regarding voice recognition.
- The Supreme Court Judge erred in law by misapprehending the evidence of a connection between the respondent and one of the other assailants.
- The Supreme Court Judge erred in law by failing to consider the whole of the evidence related to identification.
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