Case information

Criminal law — Charge to jury — Sentencing — Whether there was an air of reality to the offence of manslaughter such that it was properly left with the jury — Whether charge to the jury on self-defence contained reversible legal error — Whether 6 years’ imprisonment is an appropriate sentence in the circumstances?

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

Mr. Khill and Ms. Benko lived in a rural area. At night, the property could be very dark. One February night, Ms. Benko heard a noise outside and woke Mr. Khill. He looked outside and saw lights in his pickup truck. He retrieved a shotgun, left the house and stealthily approached his truck. He saw someone leaning into the truck and shouted. He fired two shots at the person. Either was fatal. Mr. Khill was tried before a jury for second degree murder. He claimed self-defence and testified that he fired instinctively due to his military training because he believed he saw the intruder, Mr. Styres, move consistently with pointing a gun to shoot. The jury charge included a charge on manslaughter as a lesser-included offence of second degree murder, and charged the jury on self-defence. The jury convicted Mr. Khill of manslaughter. The trial judge sentenced him to 8 years imprisonment. Before an appeal was heard, the trial judge wrote a letter to the Court of Appeal advising that he had only intended to sentence Mr. Khill to 6 years imprisonment but he had erred by reading out 8 years. The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal from conviction but allowed an appeal from sentence and ordered a sentence of 6 years imprisonment.

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