The tragic death of a respected Canadian gaming property manager, Rodney Frenette, has laid the groundwork for an intense courtroom drama, as ambiguities loom large over which party shoulders the burden of blame. Frenette succumbed to an unfortunate, fatal accident during a brawl inside Casino New Brunswick, sparking a legal furor. Reflecting the gravity of the incident, his distressed family initiated a lawsuit seeking financial recompense from the alleged perpetrator, 51-year-old Michael Glaspy.
The fateful incident unfolded on the unsettling evening of March 4, 2023, culminating in Frenette’s untimely demise on March 28, aged 56, at a local hospital. A well-regarded figure, he held the position of food and beverage manager in the Moncton, New Brunswick gaming property.
According to allegeations laid out in the lawsuit, Glaspy – suspected of being under the influence of alcohol or an equivalent substance that fateful night – inflicted a forceful blow on Frenette during a heated squabble. The intensity of the blow reportedly led to Frenette fatally banging his head.
Drawing from this dramatic recount, Alison Menard, the diligent attorney representing Glaspy, took a contentious stance, asserting that her client was free from any culpability regarding Frenette’s death. According to court documents, Menard proposes that Frenette’s decision to veer beyond his employment boundaries, by intervening into an impending security situation at the casino, led him unwittingly to contribute to his own fatal injuries.
Menard avows that the situation could have been contained had security guards been handling it, rather than Frenette’s personal face-off with Glaspy. She further expands upon the escalating chaos, detailing how more casino employees got involved as the situation spiraled out of control. Menard’s documents elucidate, “The intervention of bar staff led Glaspy to topple forward, thus triggering the backward fall of Frenette, resulting in him striking his head and inflicting serious self-injury.”
Menard firmly disputes the accuracy of claims alleging Glaspy’s background in martial arts and boxing, his failure to medicate his purported ‘violent tendencies,’ and his visits to the casino despite known aggression linked to his gambling habits. In the light of her counter-arguments, Menard is seeking dismissal of the lawsuit filed against Glaspy.
However, the attorney representing the aggrieved family, Brian Murphy, chose to refrain from commenting on the matter.
Frenette is survived by his wife of 33 years and his sole daughter. Further complicating this tangled story, a single count of manslaughter has been levied against Glaspy, with a separate criminal case scheduled for 2025.
Casino New Brunswick, the scene of this tragic event, operates under the aegis of the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation. Well-appointed with over 600 slot machines, 20 table games, a poker room, and a 126-room hotel, this backdrop awaits further investigation as this intriguing legal battle unfolds.
