Ryan Sawyer died as a result of neck compression: medical examiner

Nova Scotia’s deputy chief medical examiner ruled Ryan Sawyer’s death a homicide.

Nova Scotia’s deputy chief medical examiner ruled that Ryan Sawyer’s manner of death was a homicide, caused by Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy due to neck compression.

Dr. Erik Mont conducted an autopsy on Sawyer on Dec. 24 and Dec. 25, 2022.

“Ultimately, what initiated the chain of events that led to Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy and ultimately death was an altercation in which pressure was applied on the neck,” Mont testified on Wednesday.

Alexander Pishori Levy, 40, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death charges. He’s accused of choking Sawyer to death in the early morning hours of Dec. 24, 2022. Wednesday marked day three of his judge-alone trial before Justice James Chipman.

During Mont’s expert testimony as a forensic pathologist, he said Sawyer’s brain showed evidence of swelling and Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy, which occurs when the brain is deprived of blood and/or oxygen.

During cross-examination from Levy’s lawyer James Giacomantonio, Mont agreed that choking did not cause Sawyer to lose oxygen to the point of it becoming fatal.

“I believe it’s likely that he did experience some period of diminished oxygenation to the brain,” Mont testified. “But the irreversible brain damage resulted from the fact that his heart stopped and he was deprived of oxygen for a long time during the resuscitation.”

Paramedics told the trial on Tuesday they couldn’t find a pulse on Sawyer, and despite CPR efforts, he was taken to hospital where he died.

Mont said Sawyer’s heart stopped during the neck restraint. Mont agreed with the Crown prosecutor that after the restraint was released, there was still no oxygen getting to Sawyer’s brain.

His findings are the result of accounts of what happened at the scene, police reports, watching a few video clips, medical records – including EHS reports and hospital records – and earlier medical episodes, along with the autopsy and toxicology findings.

Sawyer’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was 231mg per 100ml (of blood) and that there were levels of THC found.

Asked by the Crown prosecutor if those factors caused Sawyer’s death, Mont said, “I don’t think any of these findings in the toxicology report played any role” physiologically in the fatal outcome.

Rare case and homicide finding

During cross-examination, Mont said most people who experience a neck restraint don’t tend to suffer irreversible arrhythmias.

“This is the only case that I have encountered personally in which someone is in a neck restraint and has suffered a fatal arrhythmia,” Mont testified.

As for the manner of death in an autopsy, Mont said there are five possible outcomes: homicide, suicide, accidental, natural or undetermined.

Mont said there are several definitions of a homicide finding, “the simplest definition would just say death at the hands of another individual.”

However, he said intent is also considered, because tragic accidents are possible, such as surgery complications, for example.

“The definition that I would use,” he said, “is death resulting from the volitional act of another individual with an intention to harm, not necessarily an intent to harm, but an intention to harm.”

Witness cellphone video

The first Crown witness of the day was Nina Look, 26, who testified virtually from Australia, at around midnight her time, with a 14-hour time difference from Nova Scotia.

She was waiting to enter the Halifax Alehouse early that 2022 morning and captured cellphone video while she was in line at the Prince Street entrance of the Alehouse.

She testified repeatedly that she saw a man on the ground in a chokehold.

Look, a Nova Scotia native, told the judge she heard a commotion by the door – and saw one person being held face down, while another was in a chokehold.

She said she was in line at the now-shuttered bar for up to 15 minutes when she witnessed the commotion unfold.

“I started to take a video because I thought it could be useful… or evidence or something,” she said.

She testified she didn’t see anything happen before the incident, other than a lot of people yelling and watching.

Look didn’t identify Ryan Sawyer in video footage, but prior witnesses have.

She said he was not fighting back while in a chokehold, but “just kind of moving, but not punching or kicking anyone.”

She remembers hearing sirens and stopped watching when CPR started.

During cross-examination, she said she was “tipsy drunk” and that “could have” impacted her memory – but that it was a chaotic scene.

“There was definitely chaos,” she testified.

Look was challenged by defence lawyer Jack Bennet whether or not Sawyer was in a chokehold, as he suggested she couldn’t have seen that from watching the scene through her cellphone video recording.

“I would say that it’s a chokehold,” she said.

However, she ultimately agreed with Bennet that she couldn’t tell if the arm around Sawyer was flexing or not – but assumed there would be “a decent amount (of force) if a person can’t really move.”

Testimony continues on Thursday.

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