Christopher Durocher's body was found in a trailer near Christopher Lake in 2016. The man convicted of killing has been given a new trial by the Supreme Court of Canada. (file photo)

By Susan McNeil

Christopher Durocher homicide

Supreme Court orders new trial in 2016 Christopher Lake killing

Nov 30, 2022 | 5:00 PM

A Paddockwood man jailed for life in the killing of Christopher Durocher in 2016 will have a new trial, following a hearing at the Supreme Court of Canada on Wednesday morning.

Ryan Clark’s application to the court was successful based on his assertion that the trial judge did not instruct the jury properly when it came to eyewitness testimony.

“Eyewitness identification is inherently frail and, in this case, more should have been done than what was done,” said Bruce Campbell to the judges in a webcast court hearing.

He said the trial judge presented his charge to the jury without first going over it with the lawyers and asked for comments afterward.

The result is a jury placing too much weight on eye-witness testimony which can be wrong.

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Campbell said a warning should be given in every case.

“There should be a warning at the time a dramatic gesture is made, pointing to the only person in the prisoner’s dock by the witness who has no reason to lie and seems to be credible. But obviously, we have to alert the jury as to the inherent unreliability of that evidence,” Campbell said.

The two witnesses called in Clark’s trial, conducted at Court of King’s Bench in Prince Albert did not know Clark at first and identified him later by looking through Durocher’s Facebook page.

Both witnesses had also used meth that evening and the events they saw happened while it was dark out.

Neither knew Clark beforehand.

Justice Russell Brown said it was the frailest identification he had ever seen and asked the Crown why it was resisting a new trial.

“In all of the witness identification cases, the law is clear that if there is other evidence capable of supporting the accuracy of the identification, that matters,” said Erin Bartsch, with the Saskatchewan Crown Prosecutor’s branch.

She submitted that it should depend on the individual factors of the case.

The judges reached a decision on the same day as the hearing.

“We agree with Justice Leurer in dissent that a specific Hibbert-type instruction was required in the circumstances of this case,” said the Hon. Andromache Karakatsanis, speaking on behalf of the court.

“The appeal is allowed substantially for the reasons of Justice Leurer. The conviction is set aside and a new trial ordered.”

Durocher, 37, was killed in early October of 2016. His body was found inside a camper just west of Christopher Lake. RCMP said at the time that there were signs of a fight and charged Clark after a five-month-long investigation.

No dates have been set for a new trial yet.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com