‘Causation’s a major issue here’
Tyler Totten, 19, of Lower Truro, N.S., elects jury trial on Tannery manslaughter charge; defence notes what medical evidence says about what caused man’s death will be key
The lone adult defendant in the Tannery manslaughter case has elected trial by judge and jury, and his lawyer says the defence plans to zero in on medical evidence and causation.
Tyler Totten, 19, of Lower Truro, N.S., appeared in Fredericton provincial court along with his defence counsel, Saint John lawyer Brian Munro, and his parents Monday afternoon.
Totten and three teenage boys - whose identities are protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act - are all charged with manslaughter in the death of André Bourgeois, 41, of Grande-Digue.
The Fredericton Police Force allege the quartet assaulted Bourgeois in the Tannery - a common area in Fredericton’s downtown bar district - on Sept. 22, and that it was that assault that ultimately led to the victim’s death.