The Supreme Court of Canada has rejected an appeal in the case of Anne Norris, found not criminally responsible for the death of Marcel Reardon in 2016.
During her trial, Norris admitted to bludgeoning Reardon to death with a hammer, later hiding his body under a staircase near a St. John’s apartment building, before throwing evidence into St. John’s Harbour—then lying to police about what happened.
(Anne Norris and others filmed on surveillance video on the night of the incident.)
The four-week trial delved into Norris’ history of mental illness, with expert witnesses testifying that it was likely Norris was ultimately unable to understand right from wrong at the time of the killing.
While the defense submitted that Norris was suffering from a disorder and was not in control of her actions, the Crown argued that evidence showed Norris had deliberately planned to kill Reardon.
Ultimately, the 12-person jury deemed that she was not criminally responsible—a decision which would be challenged by the Crown.
An appeal was brought to the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, claiming that evidence was improperly excluded from the trial.
In May, a three-judge panel found that while it was an error to exclude one piece of evidence, it would have no material bearing on the jury’s decision. It also upheld the decision to disallow an audio recording from inside Norris’ prison cell.
As such, it was ruled there was no basis for a new trial.
The Crown then brought its appeal to the highest court in this country—the Supreme Court of Canada.
Today, a decision was issued to dismiss the application to hear the appeal, denying the chance for a new trial.
The initial decision, as published by the Supreme Court, did not include reasoning for the refusal.
