Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6 11 L ater this month, a 36-year-old Edmonton man is expected to be sentenced in connection with the hit-and-run death of an 18-year- old woman, Faith Jackson. She died shortly after being struck by a car in an Edmonton street early on the morning of Oct. 14, 2012. The car did not stop. In July of this year, Kenneth Didech- ko was convicted of leaving the scene of an accident where death has occurred, even though no witnesses, no physical evidence and no admissions placed him in care and control of the car at the time the young woman was hit. Didechko's defence, as outlined in his statement to police, was that the car, which he had borrowed from the deal- ership where he worked, had been sto- len from him and was driven by some unknown person when the hit-and-run occurred. He claimed he was sleeping at his father's house at the time. The car was recovered the day after the incident, damaged and abandoned in a ditch in a rural area. The key evidence that the court relied on to conclude Didechko was in fact driving at the moment of impact was entirely circumstantial. The source of that evidence was cross-referencing the time of the incident with the approximate geographical location of Didechko's cellphone based on nearby cellphone tower records as well as an analysis of records from the Global Positioning System in the car he had borrowed. In his judgment, Justice Adam Germain called the circum- stantial evidence "overwhelming" and concluded "I am satisfied beyond a rea- sonable doubt that Mr. Didechko was driving the vehicle when it struck Ms. Jackson . . . no other rational conclusion is even remotely possible." The judge dismissed Didechko's claim that he was \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ W E S T REGIONAL WRAP-UP W E S T CELLPHONE AND GPS MINING LEAD TO EDMONTON HIT-AND-RUN CONVICTION DESPITE NO WITNESSES Continued on page 12 THERE IS ENORMOUS CONCERN . . . WITH THE POLICE USE OF TECHNOLOGY TO CAPTURE PRIVATE INFORMATION. ANN CAVOUKIAN, Privacy and Big Data Institute at Ryerson University MATTER CREDENTIALS TORONTO I BARRIE I HAMILTON I KITCHENER 1-866-685-3311 www.mcleishorlando.com A Noticeable Difference ™ Choosing a personal injury lawyer is one of the most important decisions an injured person will make. Help your client ask the right questions: Is the lawyer? I Untitled-1 1 2015-05-13 4:13 PM

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