New trial in murder case

By Graeme McNaughton/The Oshawa Express

The Supreme Court of Canada is upholding a ruling by the Court of Appeal of Ontario granting a man a new trial in the murder of an Oshawa woman in 2008.

Jason Rodgerson had initially been convicted of second degree murder in the death of Amber Young.

Rodgerson appealed his guilty verdict, saying the jury in his case should not have taken his behaviour after Young’s death into consideration as to whether the death had been intentional or not.

He is said to have cleaned up his residence following Young’s death before allegedly burying her in his back yard. He then subsequently lied to police about who was responsible for Young’s death.

“A majority of the Court of Appeal…concluded that evidence of Mr. Rodgerson’s flight from and lies to the police was irrelevant to determining whether he had the requisite intent for murder; the trial judge erred by instructing the jury that it could consider evidence of his flight from and lies to the police in assessing the issue of intent; evidence of Mr. Rodgerson’s concealment and clean-up was relevant to assessing the issue of intent, but the trial judge failed to instruct the jury on the limited way in which this evidence could be used for that purpose,” states Justice Michael Moldaver of the Supreme Court in the court’s judgement, released on Friday.

In his original trial, Rodgerson maintained that Young’s death had been accidental. After being found guilty, he was sentenced to life in prison and would be eligible for parole after 14 years.

Young’s death

According to court documents, Rodgerson and Young met on the night of Oct. 26, 2008 at a bar on Ritson Road. They both sat and talked with one another at the bar before Young gave Rodgerson an ecstasy tablet, telling him it was worth five dollars.

The two left the bar, going to Rodgerson’s house.

“At trial, he testified that he and Ms. Young engaged in consensual sexual activity, first in the living room and then in his bedroom. According to Mr. Rodgerson, shortly after moving to the bedroom, he lost interest in Ms. Young and he suggested that they return to the bar,” the Supreme Court judgement reads. “Ms. Young asked Mr. Rodgerson again about the money she was owed, to which he replied ‘What are you? Some sort of whore?’ Mr. Rodgerson testified that, in response, Ms. Young attacked him with a knife, and they engaged in a physical struggle. This struggle culminated in him pressing down on her face with his forearm until she appeared to pass out. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Rodgerson also passed out. He claimed that he did not know that Ms. Young was dead until he awoke the next day.”

Rodgerson then rushed to clean up the scene, as the Bloor Street East house contained a marijuana grow-op in the basement. Court documents say he buried Young in a shallow grave he dug in the house’s backyard before returning inside to clean up, which included cutting up carpet that had been stained with blood and disposing of Young’s cell phone and belongings.

Three days later on Oct. 29, Durham police executed a search warrant on the house. Rodgerson attempted to flee, but was caught quickly. During his initial police interview, according to court documents, Rodgerson said someone else had killed Young.