The Courthouse hotel will hear judgment Monday December 14th at 2:00 p.m.
The Honourable Helen M. Pierce heard the closing arguments from both sides in the Brayden Bushby trial.
The 21-year-old Bushby has pled guilty to the charge of aggravated assault but not guilty to the charge of manslaughter in connection to the July 4th 2017 death of Barbara Kentner.
Court was told Kentner was struck by a trailer hitch thrown from a passing vehicle on January 29th 2017.
Defence lawyer George Joseph urging caution about the findings of the autopsy conducted by Dr. Toby Rose, dated in September 2017.
Joseph suggested liver disease killed Barbara Kentner and not her injury caused by his client.
Joseph, in his closing remarks to Judge Pierce, asked her honour to find any legal connection between the injury and Barbara Kentner’s ultimate demise.
MR. SADLER’S PRESENTATION
- Consider whether the actions of Brayden Bushby in January contributed to the July 4th 2017 death of 34 year old Barbara Kentner
- Should Mr. Bushby should be held legally responsible for Ms. Kentner’s death
- The weight of Mr. Bushby’s moral culpability for throwing the trailer hitch in assessing whether intervening acts are enough to eliminate his moral culpability
- The lawyer indicated that not only is there evidence that Mr. Bushby threw the trailer hitch that struck Ms. Kentner but there’s also the acknowledgment from Mr. Bushby’s that it happened
- The conclusions reached by Doctor Toby Rose in her autopsy on the body of Barbara Kentner stand in a court of law
- The testimony provided by the forensic pathologist was fair, frank and acknowledged areas where the evidence was challenging
- Dr. Rose’s testimony was also clear on the basis in which she concluded that Ms. Kentner’s life was shortened based on the injuries she suffered
- The transcripts of evidence provided by Jordan Crupi and Nathan Antoniszyn from the preliminary hearing were also referenced. Sadler notes that they were planning an ice fishing trip with Mr. Bushby and that he had been under the influence of alcohol, getting rowdy and not in full control of his actions
- On two separate occasions Mr. Bushby threw up
- Both Crupi and Antoniszyn, in their transcripts, said the trailer hitch was initially supposed to go through an acquaintances window
MR. JOSEPH’S PRESENTATION
- Joseph said to the judge if you aren’t satisfied beyond a shadow of doubt that Brayden Bushby’s actions lead to the death of Barbara Kentner, then find him not guilty of the charge of manslaughter
- Consider whether there was anything else that anyone did between the incident and the death that resulted in no longer looking at what Bushby did as a significant factor in her death
- Joseph pointed to a conversation between the police and the Kentner sisters in hospital where they were asked whether they felt they were targeted. The response was “No, just people being stupid”
- Joseph says the certainties include Bushby threw a trailer hitch at Barbara Kentner and that the hitch caused a small bowel rupture. What remains uncertain is what finally took Barbara Kentner’s life
- Every time that Barbara Kentner went to hospital after the January surgery was related to her end-life liver disease and not because of surgery complications
- Joseph discussed the testimony given by the Kentner sisters, and how they told contrary views about the need to go to the hospital. He asked Judge Pierce to believe Barbara’s story
WITNESS TESTIMONY
- Melissa Kentner
- Barbara Kentner (video interview with police in April 2017)
- Forensic pathologist Doctor Toby Rose, who performed the autopsy on Barbara Kentner
TRIAL EXHIBITS
- Trailer Hitch
- Recognizance
- Conditional Sentence Order (November 2016)
- (A) Video of the late Barbara Kentner, (B) transcript of Kentner
- Transcript of evidence from Jordan Crupi from the preliminary hearing
- Transcript of evidence from Nathan Antoniszyn from the preliminary hearing
- CV for Toby Rose
- Post-mortem report
- Dr. Davenport Operative Report
- Discharge summary February 4th 2017
- Consultation Note February 10th 2017
- Internal Medicine Consultation Note
- Discharge summary March 24th 2017
- Diagnostic Imaging Package including
- CT Scan February 9th 2017
- CT Scan February 15th 2017
- Ultrasound February 26th 2017
- Radiology report March 5th 2017
- Ultrasound March 7th 2017
- Nuclear Medicine Report March 10th 2017
- Radiology document March 10th 2017
- Ultrasound March 15th 2017
- Order Sheet and Progress Notes February 3rd 2017
- Patient Discharge Record February 4th 2017 [All three pages of the same report entered as exhibit 16a]
- Order Sheet and Progress Notes March 21st 2017
- Psychiatric Consultation Note Dr. Suzanne Alan February 1st 2017
- Consultation Note January 5th 2017
- Order Sheet and Progress Notes March 21st 2017
- Order Sheet and Progress Notes March 4th 2017

