Q: I heard the horrific news about the little girl in Ontario who was abducted and apparently killed by a couple and saw the young woman was charged with being an accessory to murder. What does that mean?
A: This was a terrible case and every parent or right-thinking person was appalled. These people have only just been charged and all of the facts have not yet emerged, so a precise answer to your question involving that particular case is difficult to provide. I can tell you about being an accessory to murder in general.
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The Criminal Code of Canada deals with culpable homicide in several ways. It simply means that a person has been killed, and another person had something to do with the death, making them criminally responsible and liable for that death.
For example, murder in the first degree occurs when one person caused the death of another in a manner that was planned and deliberate. Manslaughter occurs when one person causes the death of another but it is not intentional. It may occur during a bar fight, for example, when both parties have been drinking.
Being an accessory to murder is another way that a person is held criminally liable for a death. Section 240 of the Criminal Code provides that everyone who is an accessory to murder after the fact is guilty of a criminal offence and is liable to life imprisonment.
An accessory after the fact is defined in Section 23 of the Criminal Code. You have to know another person has committed an offence and assist that person in escaping or getting away with the offence.
If you help someone dispose of a body or murder weapon, you are an accessory. If you provide or dispose of the tools or means to hide or dispose of a dead body, you are an accessory and could receive a life sentence.
Disposing of the murder weapon, throwing a gun or knife into the river, triggers such a charge. Driving a getaway car can create such a charge.
If a murderer is on the run and you provide them with food, clothing or money, you may be charged as an accessory.
This charge is not all that common, but the authorities will lay it if they believe that someone has knowingly assisted a murderer in getting away or getting rid of evidence that would tend to prove guilt.
Given that there’s a life sentence attached to this charge, the consequences are similar to actually committing the murder.
Rick Danyliuk is a practising lawyer in Saskatoon with McDougall Gauley LLP. He has experience in teaching and writing about leagal issues. His columns are intended as general advice only. He can be reached at thelaw@producer.com.
