Sudbury man accused of killing drug dealer admits to causing his death

The trial of a man accused of second-degree murder in a 2021 death in Greater Sudbury got under way on Tuesday.

One of the most interesting facts that came out in the first day of Edgar Kyle Smith’s murder trial at the Sudbury courthouse Tuesday was that he admitted to causing Patrick McGregor’s death.

Originally charged with first-degree murder for killing McGregor, a 30-year-old Sudbury drug dealer, on Sept. 7, 2021, the charge was downgraded to second-degree murder.

The change came early on in the investigation, assistant Crown attorneys Kevin Ludgate and Mathieu Ansell told CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca at the courthouse Tuesday afternoon.

Smith, 36, has been in jail since his arrest Sept. 9, 2021.

McGregor was stabbed in the neck and run over by someone driving his red Dodge car on Lasalle Boulevard near the Notre Dame Avenue intersection.

• READ: Sudbury man on trial for murdering his drug dealer, jury told

Need to determine intent

In a set of agreed statements of facts

read to the court after the first witness' testimony, the jury heard that Smith caused McGregor’s death. What will need to be proven is the accused’s intent.

Second-degree murder is deliberate but not planned, while manslaughter is neither.

A second-degree murder conviction comes with an automatic life sentence, with eligibility for parole after at least 10 years. There is no minimum sentence for manslaughter.

The court heard testimony from three witnesses Tuesday -- the victim’s mother, Christine McGregor, his sister Jessica and an eyewitness who made the 911 call.

Overheard a drug deal

During Christine McGregor’s testimony, the court heard that she knew her son was dealing drugs to support himself as he was on Ontario Works at the time.

The night before the fatal incident, she testified that Patrick was taking her to dinner at Wendy’s when she overheard him arranging a drug transaction with Smith.

She said her son told her that he agreed to give Smith 1.5 grams of cocaine and some cigarettes in exchange for a chain worth $750. They planned to meet at the Esso gas station on the corner of Lasalle Boulevard and Notre Dame Avenue to make the exchange.

The victim’s mother said she knew Smith because her daughter used to date his brother.

She also testified she overheard a second phone call with Smith after dinner while she was still in the car with her son.

“Oh my God, does he ever sound mad,” the woman recalled her son whispering to her at the time.

That was the last time she would see her son alive, she said.

Next, the Crown had the woman confirm photos of her son’s red Dodge Magnum.

Police photos of the interior of the vehicle after the incident showed an open glove compartment and items strewn about in the front passenger seat and footwell.

The victim’s mom testified that her son took good care of his car and it was clean when she had been inside of it several hours before her son was killed.

During cross-examination, she told defence attorney Mary Cremer that her son had his phone up to his ear during the calls and that she didn’t hear what the person on the other end was saying.

When Ludgate re-examined the witness, she clarified that she wasn’t sure whether the chain that was promised was going to be used as payment or collateral in the drug deal.

Victim’s sister testifies

McGregor’s sister, Jessica, was the second witness to testify Tuesday.

She admitted she knew her brother was a drug dealer, but said she wasn’t very close with him.

Jessica testified she received a call from her brother around 1:30 a.m. just before his murder asking to speak to her boyfriend at the time, John Cyr.

After a short conversation, she said Cyr brough the phone back to her saying he was going to bed and that her brother would be stopping by their Kent Court apartment “in about a half hour.”

She said she doesn’t know what they spoke about in the phone call.

When he didn’t show up, she said she got worried and went to buy a pack of cigarettes at the nearby Esso station some time after 7 a.m.

She was turned away because police had the area cordoned off. She later found out that was where her brother had had been killed.

Because Jessica used to date Smith’s brother, she was “friends” with Smith on Facebook, but said they did not have a friendship in real life.

That same morning, Smith’s then girlfriend messaged Jessica on that Facebook account, saying she was looking for Smith.

The two women then spoke on the phone, when she told Jessica that Smith was last seen with her brother.

Man witnessed hit-and-run

The third witness to testify on Tuesday was eyewitness Gregory Hawton, who used to live on Lasalle Boulevard across from the Esso gas station.

Hawton said he was outside smoking pot on the sidewalk in front of his home when he heard a commotion at the gas station.

When he heard shouting, he hid behind a bush and saw a red car in front of the car wash on the property before it ran over a person standing in the road.

The vehicle was being driven fast and erratically away from the scene.

After the car fled, Hawton said he crossed the street while on the phone with 911.

“There was too much blood for me to do anything about the situation,” the 23-year-old from North Bay said.

“He appeared to be alive.”

Hawton testified that the victim landed near the curb, where he saw blood pooling.

McGregor was pronounced dead at Health Sciences North at 2:55 a.m. Sept. 7, 2021.

He had suffered a stab wound to the neck and more than 30 blunt force injuries that the Crown said are consistent with being hit and run over by a vehicle.

Long list of witnesses

Four weeks have been set aside for the trial and the Crown named at least 10 other witnesses it intends to call to the stand, including the employee working at the gas station that night, several officers that were at the scene, the responding paramedic, a man who found a knife believed to be connected to the case and several experts.

Some of the evidence that was mentioned during the Crown’s opening statement include a bloody cigarette butt, a blood-stained jacket, fingerprints on pop bottles as well as video surveillance footage.

It is not known whether the defence will call any witnesses or if Smith will testify on his own behalf.