Josh Chapman's mother still holds filmmaker responsible
Matthew Wild
Special to The Chief
A filmmaker has been cleared of criminal involvement in a stunt that killed a Squamish man.
Professional snowboarder Josh Chapman received fatal burns after attempting to ride a snowmobile through a wall of flame during a party held at an auto shop on Squamish Business Park on July 20, 2002.
A bystander threw gasoline over Chapman just as he entered the flames. Chapman was not wearing protective equipment, and fire extinguishers were not on hand. The former Howe Sound Secondary School student died of his injuries three weeks later, aged 24.
The stunt was taped by Surrey video producer Jeremy Walter Deichen, who was charged with criminal negligence causing death. His trial ran at Vancouver Supreme Court between Sept. 6 and Sept. 21, with the verdict given Thursday (Nov. 10).It all hinged on the question of whether Deichen had commissioned the stunt or if he just happened to be taping.
Judge Robert Bauman said the Crown's case hinged on the evidence from a youth who had been drunk at the time. The youth, who can't be named because he was a minor at the time of Chapman's death, was previously convicted for throwing a pail of gasoline at Chapman as he approached the wall of flame.
Judge Bauman said the evidence provided by the youth would be "critical to proving the guilt of Mr. Deichen," but said that this individual had been "extremely drunk.
"It is clear he has lied under oath," said Bauman. "His credibility as a witness is very suspect. There is no corroboration of [this youth's] critical evidence that Mr. Deichen filling the pail of gas or directing [the youth] on his command."The evidence in my view falls far short of proving beyond a reasonable doubt on all the elements of making Mr. Deichen guilty."He said that various witnesses gave varying versions of events even though he earlier commented that he accepted Deichen was a filmmaker and that he was filming the events in process. Even though he accepted that Deichen purchased the gasoline there was no evidence Deichen knew what it would be used for, said the judge. Crown lawyer Stephen Cooke outlined that Deichen's company, Loaded Gun Productions Ltd., was known for extreme sports productions and the Drunk in Public series. He claimed the snowmobile stunt was filmed on two cameras, "controlled by the accused to capture events from different vantage points". He made a case that Deichen was "more than just filming for fun," having obtained gasoline and directed a drunk 15-year-old to throw it into the fire as Chapman approached. The teen was earlier convicted in a youth court of criminal negligence causing death.However, defence lawyer Matthew Nathanson denied Deichen orchestrated events, saying that vehicles were performing burnouts before his arrival, and that a snowmobile race had been pre-planned. There was no indication he knew what the gasoline was going to be used for, as the idea to ride through fire came to a group of partygoers late in the evening.Rather than organize the stunt, his client had nearly missed filming it, as it began so quickly, said Nathanson.He shredded the reliability and credibility of Crown witnesses, highlighting the contradictory evidence presented. He listed that it was dark at the time, a party atmosphere where witnesses were intoxicated, and that events were quick, unexpected and traumatic. He also stated that witness contamination and the subsequent passage of time made claims about Deichen's involvement unreliable.Speaking after the verdict Nathanson said his client declined to comment on the matter.He said Deichen was pleased at the verdict but added that it was unquestionably a tragic event."This matter has been hanging over my client for three years," It has been very excruciating to be accused of this crime."Nathanson also commented that the matter had been painful for the Chapman family but the judge made the decision based on evidence. He declined to state if his client will continue in the video production business.Despite the verdict Chapman's mother, Kathy, said she still holds Deichen responsible for her son's death.Speaking outside of the court, Chapman's distraught mother said, "My son is gone and I wish he [Deichen] would not be able to make these sort of films."
