Accused in fatal boat crash retains new, well-known lawyers
Three people were killed on Bobs Lake on May 18, 2024 when two boats collided
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A renowned Toronto law firm has taken over the case of Matthew Splinter, the man charged in a fatal boat crash on Bobs Lake last summer.
Justice of the Peace Nathan Flight presided over case management court on the morning of Thursday, Mar. 20, 2025, in Courtroom Two at the Kingston Ontario Court of Justice, located at 279 Wellington Street. Naomi Lutes, a partner in the prominent firm Greenspan Humphrey Makepeace LLP, appeared over Zoom, seeking some outstanding disclosure (case information) she had not yet received from the Crown. Lutes asked for a two-week adjournment while she sought the information. Flight granted this an adjournment, and an appearance was scheduled for early April. Splinter did not appear, although it is possible he was watching online via Zoom.
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Previously, Splinter had been represented by Jordan Teknos-Levy, a Kingston lawyer whose firm, according to his website, specializes in criminal law and charges for driving under the influence and driving while impaired.
Greenspan Humphrey Makepeace LLP is known for its work on some of Canada’s most prominent and challenging technical cases on behalf of some noted and wealthy people. Former clients include lawyer and hockey agent Alan Eagleson, fashion executive Peter Nygard, accused war criminal Omar Khadr, and pop star Justin Bieber.
In terms of cases, the firm represented Linda O’Leary (wife of Canadian businessman and TV personality Kevin O’Leary), who was acquitted in a boating accident in 2019; Marco Muzzo, who pleaded guilty to the deaths of three young children and their grandfather in a car crash while driving drunk in 2015 in Vaughn, Ontario; and former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Rob Ramage, convicted of impaired driving causing death in the collision that killed his friend and mentor, former Chicago Blackhawks star Keith Magnussen.
Splinter was charged in connection with the fatal boating collision that occurred on the 2024 Victoria Day weekend on Bobs Lake, located in South Frontenac Township north of Frontenac Provincial Park and southeast of Sharbot Lake.
Three people died as a result of injuries sustained in the collision, according to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP): a 21-year-old female from South Frontenac Township, a 22-year-old female from Elginburg, and a 23-year-old male from South Frontenac. A total of five other people, aged 21 to 44, were reportedly taken to hospital with injuries of varying degrees of seriousness, police said the following day.
The tragic collision took place on the evening of Saturday, May 18, 2024.
On Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, after more than five months of investigation, the OPP arrested and charged Matthew Splinter, age 44, of South Frontenac Township. At a press conference the following day, the OPP announced the following charges against Splinter:
— Three counts of dangerous operation of a conveyance causing death
— Three counts of dangerous operation of a conveyance causing bodily harm
— Three counts of impaired operation of a vehicle causing death
— Three counts of impaired operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm
None of the charges against Splinter have been proven in court; he is currently on bail while awaiting trial.
Michelle Dorey Forestell is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter at the Kingstonist. The LJI is supported by federal funding.
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