The 2024 Nova Scotia Homicide Victim List is available here
Cape Breton police responded to reports of an unconscious male near the intersection of Duke and State Streets shortly before midnight on May 10th.
Police said they located a 51-year-old man with serious injuries who was transported by EHS to Cape Breton Regional Hospital where he later died.
Cape Breton Regional Police charged 49-year-old Jason Owen Caines with Manslaughter. Caines was released on a promise to pay $10,000 himself, with another $10,000 from a surety on his behalf.
Other conditions include staying at a home in Sydney River and a curfew from six in the evening to six in the morning unless he’s with his surety.
Update May 2026: According to CTV News, a Nova Scotia man has been sentenced after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the death of his close friend. Jason Caines, 51, admitted responsibility for the May 2024 incident in Sydney, where he pushed Keith McMullen outside a Royal Canadian Legion following a night of drinking. McMullen, who was intoxicated and reportedly upset, fell backward after the push, struck his head on the pavement, and suffered fatal brain injuries.
The court heard the act was not intentional, and Caines showed remorse and accepted responsibility. He had no significant criminal history and was considered unlikely to reoffend. A judge sentenced him to two years in prison, agreeing with a joint recommendation from the Crown and defence, calling the incident a tragic outcome of a brief altercation between friends.