Toxicologist testifies at trial of Ontario man who admitted to setting ex-wife on fire

A toxicologist who testified astatine the first-degree execution proceedings for Norbert Budai says determination is nary mode of knowing precisely however overmuch fentanyl helium had successful his strategy astatine the clip of the attack, and said it’s imaginable it was administered to Budai aft the onslaught by paramedics.

Dr. Joel Meyer who testified for the defence Friday said helium watched and listened to Budai attest astir however overmuch intoxicant helium said helium consumed and however overmuch fentanyl helium said helium snorted connected the time helium admitted to mounting his ex-wife Henrietta Viski connected occurrence and connected the time anterior to the attack.

Meyer said determination was nary mode of knowing however overmuch fentanyl determination was successful Budai’s strategy due to the fact that the urine illustration taken astatine Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre taken aft the onslaught lone detected whether the cause was successful his urine, not however much.

It was June 17, 2022 conscionable earlier 2 p.m. erstwhile Budai admitted helium went to the Chester Le Boulevard townhouse wherever Viski lived with the couple’s 3 children with a integrative instrumentality afloat of gasoline. When helium arrived, helium doused her with gasoline and acceptable her connected fire. A time later, the 37-year-old died from complications from burns to astir 80 per cent of her body.

Budai testified that helium had snorted $30 worthy of fentanyl helium bought that morning. He besides said helium drank 3 to six glasses of vodka mixed with brushed drinks and claimed his representation of what happened that time wasn’t wide aft being up each night. He besides said helium had gotten precocious and drunk the time before.

Meyer said based connected Budai’s age, tallness and weight, the intoxicant would person disappeared but the fentanyl could person inactive been successful his system, could person affected his cognition and rendered him confused and affected his memory.

During cross-examination, Crown lawyer Matthew Shumka asked Meyer if helium was alert that Budai had been fixed fentanyl by paramedics connected his mode to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Budai was taken to infirmary to beryllium treated for his ain burns helium suffered during the state attack.

Shumka asked if the threshold magnitude detected successful the infirmary screening could beryllium attributable to the dosage fixed successful the ambulance. “It would beryllium hard to find if that would beryllium the sole contributor to the uncovering of fentanyl successful his urine by the hospital,” Meyer replied. “I cannot regularisation that out.”

Paramedic Sami Mohammad Sharif was called arsenic a reply witnesser for the Crown. He testified helium treated Budai connected the mode to infirmary due to the fact that helium was screaming successful pain. He says helium gave him 3 doses of fentanyl for symptom absorption by intravenous earlier helium arrived astatine hospital.

At the opening of the trial, Budai tried to plead blameworthy to second-degree execution but the Crown rejected that plea.

Closing submissions are scheduled for adjacent week.