In 2002, a group of men pushed their way into a Scarborough nightclub without paying cover. They scuffled with Colin and Roger Moore, two brothers who were hosting a monthly fundraising event. Words were exchanged, punches were thrown, bottles broken, a glass door smashed. The group eventually left. Minutes later, two gunmen burst into the kitchen and opened fire on the brothers. Colin would die of his injuries. Police arrested one of the gunmen a short time later, and a search for the getaway vehicle led them to Leighton Hay, who, they decided, was the second shooter. Hay was charged with both first-degree and attempted murder.
Crown prosecutors hung a significant amount of their evidence on eyewitness accounts of the second shooter—but the case was remarkably weak. One witness picked Hay out of a photo lineup but, according to court documents, confessed that Hay resembled the shooter only about “80 percent.” The prosecution put them on the stand at trial anyway. Eyewitnesses also agreed that the shooter had short dreadlocks. But Hay had a buzz cut. Prosecutors argued that Hay had buzzed his hair to cover up his crime, presenting clippings obtained from his razor as proof.
Hay’s defence was strong: his sister, who was dating the first gunman, testified Hay was asleep when they returned home. Despite all that, he was convicted. And his conviction was upheld on appeal.
The prosecutors fought to prevent the forensic testing of Hay’s hair—and for good reason, as the testing showed that the hairs were most likely facial and not from his head. The exculpatory evidence led the Supreme Court to unanimously declare that Hay deserved a new trial. Prosecutors withdrew the charge. Hay was released in 2014, after serving twelve years in prison. The case made national news.