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Court won’t hear case in which former athlete found not criminally responsible

Nov 28, 2019 | 1:37 PM

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada will not revisit the case of a former elite Newfoundland athlete who was found not criminally responsible in the death of a man she struck with a hammer.

At her jury trial, Anne Norris pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in Marcel Reardon’s death, but admitted to repeatedly hitting him in the head with a hammer early one morning in May 2016.

Her defence team argued that the former member of a provincial basketball team was in the grips of a mental disorder when she attacked Reardon and therefore should be found not criminally responsible.

The Crown argued that evidence at the trial showed Norris was not delusional and planned a deliberate killing.

Earlier this year, Newfoundland and Labrador’s appeal court dismissed the Crown’s challenge of the jury’s decision.

As usual, the Supreme Court gave no reason for refusing to hear the case.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 28, 2019.

The Canadian Press