Man guilty of murder in Leslieville bystander shooting appears in court, appealing conviction

Officers respond to the scene of a shooting in Toronto's Leslieville neighbourhood on July 7, 2023.

Sentencing submissions in the case against Damian Hudson, the man convicted of second-degree murder in the 2023 shooting death of Leslieville bystander Karolina Huebner Makurat, took a step forward on Tuesday.

Last month, Hudson’s lawyer Charn Gill, who saw him through the trial, told the court he couldn’t represent his client due to ethical reasons and breakdown of the solicitor client privilege.

On Tuesday, a staff lawyer from Legal Aid Ontario arrived and began having conversations with Hudson about his options and next steps.

The court also heard that Hudson has filed an appeal in his case.

Court documents list several reasons for the appeal, including misleading and incorrect jury instructions, and erroneous inference of facts.

In December, a jury found Hudson guilty of second-degree murder after he fired his gun in a fight outside a supervised drug consumption site in Leslieville. A stray bullet struck and killed Huebner-Makurat, a wife and mother of two girls.

The case resumes on July 24.