DECEMBER 23, 1998 segs Bright lights #9 12 = Business eee 13 Classifieds ese 30 Crossword one 33 Keight ooo? Hort: Shore Alert Sports Wright Nort Shoe Fore Prons Lat Prati tes Fos Spray 1136 Lorie Avenue Nth Yancgunt BC VIM 2nd Canvay Putncateures Mad Saies Poot Apeument te, (8726 36 Pages Mountain fall kills hoy scout Robert Galster News Reporter robert@nsncws.com THE Nerth Shore’s mountainous terrain has claimed its first life of the winter sea- son. An J1-year-old boy from Burnaby feli about 150 metres (490 feet) down a gully and died before rescue personnel could retrieve him on Sunday evening. He was one of seven scouts on an outing at Mount Harvey, near Lions Bay. The group was accom- panied by two leaders. They were out in the ponular summer and winter hiking arca near the boundary of Cypress Provincial Park when the mishap occurred. Another hiker in the areca heard the group's yells and retreated to Lions Bay where he contacted emergency personnel. A crew of 38 rescue personnel from both the North Shore Rescue Team and the Lions Bay ooo fj eee 29 See Retrieval page 3 3 . Anna Marie D'Angeio News Reporter dangclo@nsnews.com A West Vancouver man who was convicted of manslaughter in the 1993 death of his elderly mother is getting a new trial. Michacl Boyd McCune, in his late 50s, was charged with the second degree murder of Barbara McCune, in her 80s. Michael MeCune lived with his mother in the 1400-block of Ouawa Avenue. He was her sole caregiver tor 14 years as her health declined. The Crown's case against Michacl McCune alleged that he deliberately stood, jumped or “stomped” on his mother’s chest, re ES Lacrosse loss? p3 North Shore Indians may relocate to Kelowna The Voice of North and West Vancouver since 1969 Bers 2 ; Talkin How to clean and cook the big bird turkey 027 Tidbits of news from the restaurant front A savoury sampling p23 NEWS photo Terry Peters Slippery slope Conviciion in West Vancouver mansiaughter case set aside causing the frail, senile woman's death on Jan. 28, 1993. In February 1996, a B.C. Supreme Court jury deliberated fess chan a day to find McCune not guilty of second degree mur- der, but found him guilty of a lesser charge of manslaughter. McCune was sentenced to a year in jail. But last week, a B.C. Court of Appeal set aside the convic- tion and ordered a new trial on a manslaughter charge only. “Lant of the view that this is a case in which the appellant (Michael) was deprived of his right to make full answer and defence and there may well be a miscarriage of justice if the ver- SHAWN Barton became a human toboggan Monday as the season's first snowfall blanketed the North Shore. Daughter Meagan and friend Kaitlyn caught a ride at Grand Boulevard in North Vancouver. dict is allowed to stand,” wrote Madam Justice M. Anne Rowles of the B.C. Court of Appeal. MeCune’s conviction was appealed, in part, on the basis of Crown prosecutor Joc Bellows’ closing address to the jury at the end of the trial. In his closing statement, Bellows first revealed a theory of manslaughter by criminal negligence in the case. The Crown suggested that if Barbara McCune’s death was the result of an accidental fall, the jury could find Michael McCune guilty of criminal negligence because he failed to call an ambulance soon enough. Bellows also stated that Michael McCune had been criminally negligent through the mainte- nance of the house that made his mother’s fall inevitable. See Victim page 3 JOIN FITNESS WORLD Ey PETUEN AIPPARE TOR 2 TO HAWAII