Prince Albert man headed back to trial on 2022 New Year's manslaughter charge

A Prince Albert man is heading back to trial on a manslaughter charge almost a year after the charge was stayed due to lack of sufficient evidence to convict.

Richard Budd was originally charged with second-degree murder in the death of 20-year-old Alex Whitehead, who died after being injured at a home in the 200 block of 13th Street East on Jan. 1, 2022.

Budd was arrested in April 2022. The victim’s sister Charmaine Poorman told CTV News at the time that she wasn’t ready to forgive the man accused of killing her brother, but she said her brother would.

“My brother would forget anybody who would hurt him in any sort of way. He would move on from that, and say we can move past this,” Poorman said of her brother Whitehead.

“But he’s not here to forgive him, and I’m not ready to forgive anybody that took his life.”

Alex Whitehead was known for being hard-working and helpful, his family says. (Courtesy Charmaine Poorman)

Following a preliminary hearing in January 2023, Budd’s charge was downgraded to manslaughter.

In March 2023 the charge was stayed — essentially, dropped.

When a charge is stayed, the Crown has a year to resume proceedings should new information come to light.

According to a Prince Albert police news release, the investigation continued in the last year and officers were able to gather new evidence.

Budd will make his next appearance in Prince Albert Provincial Court on Friday.