Court of Appeal reserves judgment in criminal negligence conviction in teenager's workplace death

New Brunswick's Court of Appeal has reserved judgment in the case of a man found guilty of criminal negligence in the 2018 workplace death of Fredericton teenager.

Construction supervisor Jason King appealed his conviction and its three-year sentence in the death of 18-year-old Michael Henderson.

Henderson was killed on the job at a city sewage plant on Barker Street. King was the supervisor at the site the day Henderson was killed.

Henderson was working in a pool-like structure called a clarifier. There is a hole in the bottom of the clarifier that connects to a pipe. He was working in that hole when an inflatable plug slipped out of the pipe when they were testing it for leaks. The plug pinned Henderson against the wall of the hole, causing him to drown when the water rose over his head.

Much of the defence's case relies on the assertion that the trial judge, Justice Thomas Christie, erred in admitting into evidence a statement King gave to WorkSafeNB investigators.

Patrick Hurley, King's lawyer, said King spoke with two investigators from WorkSafeNB several days after Henderson's death.

Hurley said King didn't know at the time his statements could be used against him in a court of law, even if he understood they could be used as evidence.

If King had been in a police station, a simple reading of rights would have sufficed, Hurley said, but since King was talking to a WorkSafe investigator, he wouldn't have necessarily known his words could be used against him.

He said King had spoken to the lead investigator twice before the recorded interview, once in a phone call and once just before the recording took place.

The defence took exception to the fact that the investigator was not called to testify about what was said in those meetings.

Hurley also criticized the judge's decision to rely more heavily on the statement given to investigators than to King's testimony at court.

Crown prosecutor Patrick McGuinty rejected the defence's reasoning, saying King was made aware that what he said could be used as evidence and that King had the ability to walk away from the interview.

McGuinty also pointed to a statement where King said he didn't want to throw his employer "under the bus," thereby admitting he understood the seriousness of the incident.

He also responded to the lack of testimony from the investigator, saying that it isn't necessary to question every person involved in an investigation.

He said the judge found that the statement King gave was voluntary.

The defence also argued that Christie put too much emphasis on King's previous manslaughter conviction when determining the sentence.

In 2006, King was convicted of manslaughter in the beating death of a Woodstock man.

While the defence argued that punishment for one crime shouldn't be doubled because of an existing offence, McGuinty argued that the fact that King had taken a life before was relevant.

As is custom, the court of appeal did not give a date when their decision would be rendered.

King remains out on bail pending the court's decision.