Woman to be tried for manslaughter in death of friend
A judge has thrown out a second-degree murder charge against a woman accused in the stabbing death of her friend, instead opting to finish trying her on the lesser included offence of manslaughter.
Megan Loos folded her hands, closed her eyes, then reached for a box of tissues after Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Peter Michalyshyn delivered his decision Friday.
Michalyshyn had been asked to rule on a directed verdict application from the defence, which dealt with whether there was enough evidence to continue the trial on second-degree murder charges.
While reading his decision, Michalyshyn said the question before him is whether a properly instructed jury could convict Loos of second-degree murder on the available evidence.
“I find the answer is no,” he said. Loos is accused in the death of 21-year-old Sara Ann Kay, who died after an altercation at a duplex near 124 Street and 128 Avenue on March 31, 2017.
Loos began what was scheduled to be a 10-day trial before Michalyshyn on Monday.
In his ruling, Michalyshyn said he had heard no direct evidence on what happened between Loos and Kay in the kitchen of the duplex where Loos lived at 12807 124 St.
Court heard Kay and Loos, who were friends, were intoxicated at the time. A disagreement ensued. A woman in the house told court she heard the accused yell for Kay to “get the f---” out of the house some time before the stabbing.
At some point, the witness saw Kay stagger into the kitchen, where Loos was. The witness said Kay’s arms were outstretched as if she was about to push someone. The witness lost sight of her. Moments later, Kay left the kitchen holding a bloody wound on her torso.
Paramedics transported Kay to hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 3:43 a.m.
The defence argued there was not enough evidence to establish Loos had the intent necessary to commit second-degree murder.
For one, the defence argued she was heavily intoxicated, which can affect a person’s ability to form intent.
The trial was adjourned until Monday.
Police did not identify Kay, saying doing so served no “investigative purpose.” She was initially identified in media reports as Sara Crane.