A Sarnia woman has been charged with criminal negligence causing death, but few details can be released due to a publication ban.
Krystal Earle, 36, was charged in late March following a recent death, but the identity of the deceased is covered by the publication ban. Their name is also redacted on a public document at the Sarnia courthouse containing details of the charge.
A Sarnia police inspector in charge of the criminal investigations department confirmed the charge was laid, but declined to provide any additional information because the case is before the courts. Earle was released in March with a May 1 court date, where the case was adjourned to Thursday.
During the latest court appearance, Earle’s lawyer, Sarah Donohue, asked for the case to be adjourned again to later this month because she is still waiting for the disclosure of medical documents from the Lambton Crown attorney’s office. Earle, who turns 37 later this month, was not in court Thursday as Donohue represented her.
The former St. Clair high school and Lambton College student bought the former Sam’s Restaurant in Wyoming in late 2018 along with her then-husband and renamed it Athena’s Diner. The restaurant was destroyed in a fire in May 2019 that caused $150,000 in damage, according to reports at the time, and reopened in Petrolia that December.
The Petrolia location, which drew the attention of public health inspectors amid a stand against pandemic-related capacity limits that were in place at the time, abruptly closed in April 2022.
Earle also had ties to Sophia’s Diner in Sarnia, according to social media.