Police chief said Winnipeg police did their best to investigate killing of Tina Fontaine

Police Chief Danny Smyth says Winnipeg's police servicedid the best it could in an effort to investigatethe2014 death of Tina Fontaine.

In his first comments since ajury declared Raymond Cormier not guilty of killing Fontaine, ChiefSmythsaid Friday that Winnipeg's homicide investigators worked very hard on the case and felt good about it going to trial.

"Frankly, we did our best on this one," Smyth told the Winnipeg Police Board on Friday, eight days aftera Winnipeg jury foundCormier, 56, not guilty in Fontaine's2014 death.

The 15-year-old girl fromSagkeengFirst Nation was reported missing beforeherbody was found in the Red River on Aug. 17, 2014, wrapped in a duvet cover and weighed down with rocks.

Smyth said he was aware the case against Cormier was circumstantial, but remained disappointed with the verdict.

• Jury finds Raymond Cormier not guilty in death of Tina Fontaine

"It's heartbreaking for the family. I think they expected a different outcome. I'm sure our investigators expected a different outcome. The evidence is what it is," Smyth told reporters following the police board meeting.

"We brought forward the evidence where the Crown was confident and comfortable with laying a charge of murder. But it's a different standard for the jury," he said.

"Conviction brings a standard of 'beyond reasonable doubt.' Clearly they didn't see that."

Smythsaid he doesn't know if the jury would have made a different decision if the Crown raised more details about the "Mr. Big" sting conducted by police.

The chief noted none of the "Mr. Big" evidence was struck from the court proceedings.

'What we did was the right thing'

Smyth alsosaid the trial allowed the public to see the evidence police had gathered and denied there was pressure to make an arrest in the high-profile case.

"I didn't feel political pressure at all. I think what we did was the right thing to do for a victim in our community," Smyth said.

"This was a child that was murdered and certainly a child that really wasn't even from here. She was from Sagkeeng First Nation, so we all felt an obligation to properly investigate this."

Police chief said Winnipeg police did their best to investigate killing of Tina Fontaine

7 years ago

Duration 2:02

In his first comments since a jury declared Raymond Cormier not guilty of killing Fontaine, Chief Danny Smyth said Friday that Winnipeg's homicide investigators worked very hard on the case and felt good about it going to trial.

In the days before her death,Fontainewasin contact with members of the Winnipeg Police Service, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service and provincial Child and Family Services employees.

Her death drew attention across Canada and inspired more calls for thenational inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

• Verdict brings fresh pledges to combat violence against Indigenous women
• Canada failed Tina Fontaine, Manitoba Indigenous leaders say
• How Tinadied remains a mystery followingCormier's acquittal

Smyth said Fontaine's death has already resulted in some change, citing the provincial decision to stop using hotels to housechildren who are in CFScare.

"When Tina went missing, it wasn'tunusual for kids to be housed in hotels. That doesn't happen anymore," he said.

Limited grounds for appeal: former prosecutor

Nonetheless, there remains a strong sentiment within Winnipeg's Indigenous communitythattheFontaine'skilling wasnot investigated or prosecuted as vigorously as possible.

"I think there's a lot of questions as to how the investigation was done, whether it was done thoroughly, and how the justice system ultimately failed Tina and her family as well," said Hilda Anderson-Pyrz, a spokesperson for a coalition of families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Manitoba.

"So I know there's a lot of disappointment in the community with respect to the investigation and the justice system."

The Crown has 30 days to appeal the verdict.That deadline isMarch 22.

• Timeline: From Tina'sarrival in Winnipeg toCormier'sarrest
• Cormierverdict brings fresh pledges to combat violence against Indigenous women

Brian Bell, who worked as a Manitoba Crown prosecutor for 27 years before his retirement in 2016, saidbecause jury deliberations are secret,the only grounds for appeal would involvean error in fact or law in the judge's charge to the jury.

"The only things a Crown can realistically look at arewhether or not there were any evidentiary rules made by the judge during the course of the trial that the Crown believes were made in error. For instance, if the judge decided that the jury wouldn't hear an accused's confession on the matter, or the judge prevented the Crown from calling certain evidence," Bell said.

The bar is set high to prevent wrongful convictions, Bell said.

"Public interest isn't a ground of appeal, and the Crown would be foolish if they launched an appeal if there were no grounds for it to succeed."

Bell said if a juryor even a judgeacquits somebody, it doesn't necessarily mean that person is innocent.

"It may be a situation where either the jury or a judge sitting alone was not satisfied that the evidence proved the offence against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt," he said.

"And what reasonable doubt means in sort of common parlance is that a jury or judge has to be sure that an accused committed the offence."

The WinnipegPolice Service will review the case, but has nothing new to investigate right now, Smyth said.

"Looking to the future, ifthere was some credible information that came forward that required additional investigation, we wouldlook there," he said.

"I think the evidence we gathered was reasonable to charge Raymond Cormier. It just didn't reach the standardfor conviction."