Convicted sex offender Martin Tremblay has been found guilty of criminal negligence causing death in connection to the overdose deaths of two Metro Vancouver teenagers.
In his decision, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Bruce Butler said Tremblay had a duty to care for the teens, but failed.
"I have no hesitation to conclude he showed a wanton disregard for their lives and safety," he told the packed courtroom.
The courtroom erupted into cheers as the judge read his decision in front of dozens of family and friends of the two girls.
Tremblay was also found guilty of one count of obstruction of justice and not guilty of a second count in the deaths just shy of three years ago. He pleaded not guilty last fall.
Tremblay had 16-year-old Kayla LaLonde and 17-year-old Martha Jackson Hernandez over to his Richmond home the night of March 2, 2010, and supplied them with methadone and alcohol.
He allegedly left the girls passed out there for hours before returning to find LaLonde in medical distress.
Instead of calling 911, Tremblay contacted a friend to help him drive the unconscious girl to Burnaby and dump her there, the court heard.
LaLonde went into cardiac arrest and did not survive.
The Crown alleges that when Tremblay returned home again, he failed to check on Hernandez and left a third time to take another girl to Tim Hortons.
An older woman in the house called 911 for Hernandez about seven hours later, the court heard, but the teenager was already dead.
Tremblay also faces seven separate charges related to sex crimes against teenage girls on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
