Former Pastor Found Guilty of Manslaughter in Pregnant Wife’s Death

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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A jury has concluded a former pastor, Philip Grandine, to be guilty of manslaughter in the 2011 death of his pregnant wife, 29-year-old Anna Karissa Grandine. The court was told that Grandine’s five months pregnant wife was found drowned in the bathtub of her Scarborough home on Oct. 17, 2011. According to the autopsy, traces of the sedative Lorazepam A, i.e. commonly known as Ativan, were present in her blood.

According to the verdict announced on Thursday, the jury found Grandine guilty of manslaughter. Grandine currently remains in police custody and his sentencing is scheduled on December 11 at 10 a.m. According to the defence lawyer, Grandine and his family are “absorbing” the events of the day. However, it was stressed that “it is clear that the jury has found that he had no intention to kill his wife, and for that I’m grateful,” highlighting that Grandine was originally charged with first-degree murder.

During the trial, Crown alleged that Grandine plotted to kill his wife since he wanted to continue an extramarital affair with one of his parishioners at Ennerdale Baptist Church. The jury heard that a 911 call was made from Grandine’s home on Marsh Road, near Danforth Road and St. Clair East on the night of his wife’s death. Grandine informed 911 operator that he returned home and found his wife under the water in the bathtub and not breathing. He said that “I just came home,” adding that “I was out running and my wife was taking a bath, and when I came home she was in the bath, but she’s under the water and she’s not breathing.”