No new trial for Sri Lankan man accused of killing wife but freed after court delays
MONTREAL — A Sri Lankan man charged with killing his wife but set free after his legal proceedings took too long will likely never get a new trial in Canada, Quebec’s appellate court ruled Friday in its decision to dismiss the Crown’s appeal.
Sivaloganathan Thanabalasingham was deported in July, rendering the Crown’s appeal moot as there is “no factual basis” to believe such a trial could plausibly happen, Justice Allan Hilton wrote in the 4-1 decision.
Thanabalasingham was charged with second-degree murder after his wife was found dead in the couple’s home with knife wounds to her neck in 2012.
He was scheduled to go to trial but set free after the legal proceedings took too long. A judge ruled his case exceeded a 2016 Supreme Court of Canada decision that set time limits for criminal cases.