Robert Sampson left the Barrie courthouse Friday a free man after spending nearly four years in jail.
During a lengthy reading of her decision, Superior Court Justice Vanessa Christie found Sampson, 59, not guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Tracy Reid of Orillia.
He had been in custody since being charged in Dec. 2019.
“Mr. Sampson caused some of the blunt-force injuries,” the judge declared, adding that it would be impossible to parse out those injuries from those she likely suffered in a collision with an e-bike in addition to her heart condition.
“The evidence has left this court with doubt,” she said. “The reality is that Ms. Reid’s death could have occurred without the blunt-force injury.”
Reid, 45, was found severely injured outside the Silver Swan Villa on Davey Drive on June 19, 2019. She was later pronounced dead in hospital.
Court heard Reid had a coronary artery disease. An autopsy found recent cocaine and alcohol exposure, in addition to the injuries, including to her head and neck.
And while Christie determined Sampson caused some of Reid’s injuries, she said some may have also resulted from a middle-of-the night collision with an e-bike. That collision may then have triggered arrhythmia, said the judge.
No one factor, she concluded, could be determined to have caused Reid’s death.
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