After Carleton Stevens shot his ex-girlfriend, who can only be identified by the initials J.Y. due to a publication ban, the victim, who was 6-1/2-months’ pregnant, was taken to hospital and, despite emergency surgery, lost her unborn child that was also his child. The incident happened after the couple had broken up with one another two weeks before the May 2018 shooting, with Stevens threatening to kill her and Taj Lovett, a friend of hers, numerous times. “In a case like this, where a pregnant woman was shot and lost her unborn child, feelings of revulsion or sympathy must not overwhelm the necessary legal analysis,” said the judge. “While there was evidence the accused was angry at J.Y. and made threats against her in the weeks leading up to the shooting, I cannot be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to shoot her. My doubt arises from the fact that one shell casing was found in the loft, indicating that one shot was fired.” The accused made threats against Lovett, as well as J.Y., and it’s a reasonable scenario that Lovett, not J.Y., was the intended target, said the judge. Stevens has an outstanding matter — breaching a firearms possession ban that was imposed after a prior criminal conviction — but that charge was laid on a separate indictment and will be dealt with at a later date.
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-...d-murder-judge