A former Winnipeg firefighter convicted of stealing from the apartment of a dead woman while on the job has seen his appeal dismissed by the Supreme Court of Canada.
The 2017 conviction was over an incident in 2015, when Darren Fedyck was serving on a fire crew that found the woman’s body in her Henderson Highway apartment after being called to check on her wellbeing.
During his trial, court heard that during that call Fedyck behaved suspiciously, was alone in the woman’s apartment for an extended period of time and roused the suspicions of coworkers.
When his jacket was searched, two necklaces were found that he said were his, along with $800 to $1000 in cash he claimed he was carrying to pay for car work, court heard.
During the trial, Judge Kael McKenzie acknowledged the evidence was circumstantial but said Fedyck having carried out the theft was the only rational inference he could make.
READ MORE: Firefighter gets 6 months in prison for stealing money, jewelry from dead woman’s suite
In 2018 the conviction was upheld by the Manitoba Court of Appeal, though one dissenting judge found certain evidence was misapprehended at trial and that Fedyck’s account was a reasonable explanation.
Reasons for the Supreme Court's dismissal announced Tuesday will be posted online in the future.
-With a file from The Canadian Press
