A Nova Scotia man is trying to force the province to exhume his late father’s body because he believes other family members poisoned John James Layes Sr.
Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Ann Smith ruled against Kevin J. Layes in a written decision made public Tuesday. Layes failed to give the province the required 60 days notice of his court application that claimed Dr. Mathew Bowes, Nova Scotia’s chief medical examiner, botched an autopsy on his late father, pointing to pneumonia as the cause of death.
“In the unique circumstances of this case, I find that the applicant has not given the notice required by the Proceedings Against the Crown Act. He must do so,” Smith said in her written decision dismissing his application for the exhumation.
The case isn’t dead yet, however. Layes, who lives in Pictou County, is appealing Smith’s decision. He is slated to be in court next Thursday to set a hearing date.
John James Layes Sr. died Jan. 18, 2014, inHalifax’s QEII Health Sciences Centre. He was 79 years old.
“The death of Mr. Layes Sr. became the subject of a medical examiner’s investigation after Mr. Kevin Layes alleged wrongdoing on the part of his family members leading to his father’s death,” Smith said. “As part of the medical examiner’s investigation, Mr. Layes’ remains were exhumed.”
Bowes conducted a March 7, 2014, post mortem on the remains. He “determined the cause of death to be ‘pneumonia complicating: emphysema,’” Smith said. “Dr. Bowes found that the manner of death was natural, with ischemic heart disease a contributing factor.”
Kevin Layes wants his father’s body exhumed a second time and bodily samples taken by experts of his choice, said the decision released Tuesday.
“Mr. Layes believes that his family members, including his mother, sisters and brothers, drugged his father, causing his death. He says that in order to develop evidence about this alleged poisoning, he needs to have experts analyze samples obtained from his late father’s remains,” Smith said in her introduction to the case.
Layes is also suing members of his immediate family, including his own mother, as well as a couple of his late father’s doctors based in Antigonish.
“The statement of claim alleges, among otherserious matters, that the defendants were responsible for Mr. Layes’ death. The claim states that ‘the defendants and each one knew and/or did administer psychoactive drugs which did kill and or contributed to the death of John James Layes Sr.,” Smith said.
But that case has lapsed and his lawyer told Smith “that the motion to renew did not proceed, in all, or in part, because his client wishes to develop the evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the defendants that he says he needs to support the motion to renew.”
In a third court action, launched in Truro, Layes added Dr. Bowes to the mix, charging that he obstructed the autopsy of his father’s remains. It alleges the medical examiner took eight allegedly improper actions.
“One of those allegations is that Dr. Bowes ‘refused exhumation of the body so that further fluid and tissue samples could be obtained to either continue with his autopsy or allow an independent medical examiner to conduct an autopsy,’” Smith said.
“It is alleged that Dr. Bowes undertook those allegedly wrongful actions and acted in combination with the other defendants to ‘obfuscate and otherwise cover up the murder of John James Layes Sr.’” Justice Richard Coughlan dismissed Kevin Layes’ motion in that case — discontinued this past November — looking for an order to exhume the body.
