Manslaughter charge stayed in Stampede stabbing

Charges have been dropped against a Calgary man for a fatal stabbing at the 2015 Calgary Stampede.

Rinato Toy was to face a fiveday trial beginning Monday on a charge of manslaughter in connection with a July 9, 2015, incident on the Stampede grounds.

But defence lawyer Andrea Serink said she received a notice from Crown prosecutor Tom Buglas that the charge was stayed. Serink declined to speculate on why the prosecution wasn’t proceeding.

Because the charge was stayed, instead of withdrawn, the Crown has the option of reopening the prosecution within 12 months, although that rarely occurs. Buglas said he didn’t believe the case was strong enough to proceed to trial.

“There was no reasonable likelihood of a conviction,” he said, without elaborating.

Toy was originally accused of aggravated assault after Zakariah Abdow was knifed on the fairgrounds around 12:15 a.m. on July 9, 2015. But the charge was upgraded to manslaughter after Abdow, 25, died in Foothills Hospital on Sept. 27, 2015.

Toy, 22, suffering his own stab wounds, was arrested after a foot chase leading off the Stampede grounds.

Police at the time said a third man was also knifed in an altercation involving several individuals. The other injured person was taken to Rockyview General Hospital, treated and later released.

The arrest came after officers were alerted to a fight on the midway.

Police said at the time it was believed all parties involved in the altercation knew each other.

Toy was on bail on conditions which included 24-hour house arrest and an order he abstain from alcohol consumption.

But in January, police obtained a warrant for his arrest after he allegedly breached two curfew checks and failed to report to probation. He was re-arrested last month and remains in custody on the breach charges.

He returns to court on those allegations later this week.