Court dismisses Alberta man’s manslaughter appeal

Allen Day Rider’s appeal of his 2017 manslaughter conviction was dismissed by an Alberta court on Friday.

In September 2017, Day Rider was sentenced to eight years in a federal penitentiary after he was convicted of killing 24-year-old Brittany Medicine Crane on May 21, 2015.

In Day Rider’s manslaughter trial, the Crown asked for an eight- to 10-year sentence while the defence asked for three to four years.

Medicine Crane and Day Rider were in a common-law relationship and shared a daughter.

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In 2015, Medicine Crane’s body was found badly beaten in Stand Off, Alta.

During Day Rider’s sentencing, court heard that Medicine Crane died of blunt force trauma, with Justice Eric Peterson saying an aggravating factor in his sentence was the violent beating that ensued before the young woman’s death.

Day Rider’s defence counsel appealed the eight-year sentence on Nov. 7, with records indicating they maintained their initial defence that “the fatal injuries Ms. Medicine Crane suffered may have been the result of a fall or falls, a consequence of her impairment.”

In a memorandum of judgment delivered from the bench on Dec. 14, the Court of Appeal said: “The trial judge considered that defence but found beyond a reasonable doubt that the appellant had beaten Ms. Medicine Crane to death. On appeal, counsel argues that the trial judge misapprehended the test to be applied when considering circumstantial evidence and that the verdict was unreasonable. With respect, we disagree.”

“We have read the reasons for judgment and we can find no basis to interfere with the trial judge’s conclusion that the deceased died at the hands of the appellant. We find no error in his consideration of the circumstantial evidence and we see no basis upon which to conclude that the verdict was unreasonable.  Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We have read the reasons for judgment and we can find no basis to interfere with the trial judge's conclusion that the deceased died at the hands of the appellant. We find no error in his consideration of the circumstantial evidence and we see no basis upon which to conclude that the verdict was unreasonable.  Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed."