Trial underway for former pastor charged with manslaughter of pregnant wife

Prosecutors say a former pastor charged with manslaughter in the death of his pregnant wife sedated her so that he could continue having an affair with her friend.

Crown attorneys say Philip Grandine did not stop his wife from getting into a bathtub while under the influence of a sedative on the night she died.

Anna Karissa Grandine, 29, was 20 weeks pregnant when she was found in the bathtub of their bungalow on Oct. 17, 2011.

In her opening arguments, prosecutor Donna Kellway said Karissa Grandine had not been prescribed the sedative lorazepam also known under the brand name Ativan but the drug was found in her system during an autopsy and from blood samples taken three days before her death.

Kellway also said Philip Grandine had access to the drug through his job as nurse manager at a seniors' home, where he was tasked with distributing medication.

She said he had recently been forced to step down as pastor at a Baptist church in northwest Toronto as a result of his affair with a parishioner, who was also his wife's friend.

Kellway said the affair continued, however, even as the couple underwent marriage counselling.

It's the second time Grandine has been tried in his wife's death but Ontario Superior Court Justice Faye McWatt told jurors not to speculate as to the reason for the new trial.