SaskatoonLandon Waddell died of the combined effects of a concussion and very high alcohol intoxication, says the forensic pathologist who examined his body.Landon Waddell died after fight with Timothy Smith, who’s charged with manslaughterHannah Spray · CBC News · Posted: Nov 19, 2025 3:30 PM EST | Last Updated: 4 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Landon Waddell was 37 years old when he died inside his home in Saskatoon on Nov. 17, 2024. Timothy Smith is charged with manslaughter. (Dignitymemorial.com)Landon Waddell died of the combined effects of a concussion and very high alcohol intoxication, says the forensic pathologist who examined his body.Dr. Derek Musgrove testified Wednesday at the trial for Timothy Smith, who’s charged with manslaughter.Waddell, 37, died on Nov. 17, 2024, after he and Smith, 46, got into a fight when they were hanging out and drinking together at Waddell’s home in Saskatoon.Court has heard that during the fight, Smith punched Waddell, and Waddell fell and may have hit his head on a coffee table as he fell. He was not responsive after that.Waddell’s blood alcohol level was 0.33 per cent, the toxicology report showed. That is more than four times the legal limit for driving of 0.08.Musgrove said neither the head injuries nor the alcohol intoxication alone caused his death, but both combined and compounded to cause his brain activity to slow down and stop sending signals to his lungs to breathe.”It is a combination of the concussion and the alcohol effects that led to his death,” Musgrove said.Crown prosecutor Leslie Dunning asked how Musgrove knew that alcohol poisoning wasn’t the only cause of death. Musgrove said based on the fact Waddell was active (in a fight) right before his death, it’s “unlikely” he died from alcohol toxicity alone.Similarly, the blunt force trauma injuries to the head were not likely to have caused his death on their own.Landon Waddell died in his home on 26th Street West on Nov. 17, 2024, after a fight with Timothy Smith, who’s charged with manslaughter. (Dan Zakreski/CBC)During cross-examination by Smith’s defence lawyer, Brady Knight, Musgrove said he could not say which injury or combination of injuries to the head caused the concussion, or whether they were caused by someone hitting Waddell or from him falling.Waddell also had injuries to his chest, and two distinct markings on his chest that matched Smith’s shoe print. Musgrove said there was internal bleeding in that area, but the chest injuries did not contribute to Waddell’s death.He also said he could not rule out that the bleeding there was caused by someone doing CPR on Waddell.Musgrove was the final Crown witness at the trial, which is being heard by Judge Inez Cardinal at Saskatoon provincial court.Knight said he will consider whether to call Smith to testify. If so, that is expected to happen Thursday.ABOUT THE AUTHORHannah Spray is a reporter and editor for CBC Saskatoon. She began her journalism career in newspapers, first in her hometown of Meadow Lake, Sask., moving on to Fort St. John, B.C., and then to the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
Head injury combined with intoxication caused Saskatoon man’s death, pathologist says
