Spectators in a Vancouver courtroom erupted in applause Friday as Martin Tremblay was found guilty in connection with the 2010 deaths of two teenage girls who had partied at his Richmond home.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Bruce Butler convicted Tremblay of two counts of criminal negligence causing the deaths of Martha Jackson, 17, and Kayla Lalonde, 16.
"In all of the circumstances, I have no hesitation in con-cluding that he showed a wanton and reckless disregard for the lives and safety of both girls."
The girls died of alcohol and drug overdoses in March 2010 after passing out in the home of Tremblay, a convicted sex offender and a drug dealer.
The courtroom was jammed with family and friends of the two victims. The judge also found Tremblay guilty of one of two counts of obstruction of justice for attempting to evade a police investigation. Two lesser charges of failing to provide the necessaries of life were conditionally stayed.
The two victims were already intoxicated when Tremblay invited them and one other girl to his home and provided them with more alcohol to consume.
He also provided Martha and Kayla with a line of metha-done to snort, which made them throw up and pass out.
Instead of providing the girls with medical help, he took advantage of them, sexually touching two of them.
Tremblay noticed that Kayla was having trouble breathing and should have called for medical help, said the judge.
The girls were in his charge and the failure to call for help amounted to a marked departure from the standard of care expected of an adult, he said.
- Keith Fraser, The Province ? Full story at www.theprovince.com
