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Crown can hold Bredo evidence, judge rules

Provincial court judge allows Crown to keep items seized as evidence during the investigation into the death of Daniel Levesque.

A provincial court judge has allowed Crown to keep items seized as evidence during the investigation into the death of Daniel Levesque.

Judge Ernie Quantz gave RCMP investigator Const. Margo Downey until Aug. 15 to retain the evidence, which includes Joshua Bredo’s BlackBerry, ring, clothing and shoes, the Victoria Times Colonist reported earlier this month.

Levesque died following an altercation in a Victoria condo on Aug. 3, 2011. Bredo was charged with second degree murder in connection with Levesque’s death but the charge was stayed in December after the autopsy reported the cause of death as cocaine toxicity.

According to the Times Colonist, Downey expressed concern in an affidavit that the pathologist that conducted the autopsy relied on incomplete, inaccurate and unsubstantiated information.

The autopsy by Dr. Carol Lee also indicated that Levesque had two circular wounds on the back of the head – indicative of being struck by a hammer.

During the application hearing, a second affidavit filed by Downey said that 54 text messages were sent and received by Bredo’s BlackBerry from Levesque’s phone. An RCMP lab was working on retrieving the deleted text messages but it would take nine to 12 months to retrieve the messages.

According to the Times Colonist, Downey has also asked Lee to review the autopsy. The review is expected to be completed by the end of April, at which point Downey said in her affidavit she may retain the services of an independent pathologist.