Following a jury trial, the respondent, William Victor Schneider, was convicted of second-degree murder contrary to s. 235(1), and following the close of the Crown’s case, plead guilty to interfering with a body after death, contrary to s, 182(b) of the Criminal Code.

Before the Court of Appeal for British Columbia, the appellant submitted that the murder conviction should be set aside and a new trial ordered, arguing, among other things, that the trial judge erred in admitting statements made during a telephone conversation overheard by his brother. A majority of the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and ordered a new trial on the count of second-degree murder. The majority found that the utterances were not logically relevant, as they lacked sufficient context for the jury to be able to determine their meaning.

One justice of the Court of Appeal dissented. The Crown appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, as of right