The Moor, The Murder, and The Estate: A Sicilian Legend Meets The Slayer’s Rule
Over the final two weeks of August, I had the opportunity to explore parts of Italy for the first time, and ended my travels in Taormina, Sicily.
If you have ever seen season two of The White Lotus, you may be familiar with the legend of the Moor’s Head, and if you have ever been to Sicily, you will recall the plethora of ceramic shops that display unique hand-made sculptures depicting the island’s famous legend.
The most well-known version of the legend tells the story of a Sicilian woman who fell in love with a man from the Middle East on the island. When the woman discovered that he was married with a family back home, she murdered him in his sleep and cut off his head. The woman then used his head as a pot to grow basil. Her neighbours became so envious of her thriving basil plant that they had ceramic vases crafted in resemblance. Today, the Sicilian Moor’s Heads continue to line balconies in Sicily and remain a symbol for betrayal and infidelity.
Naturally, this got me thinking about estates law and the Slayer Rule. If they were married, would the Sicilian woman be able to inherit the man’s estate?
In accordance with public policy and rooted in equity, Canadian law maintains that no one should benefit from their own wrongdoing. The Supreme Court of Canada in Oldfield v. Transamerica Life Insurance Co. of Canada, 2002 SCC 22 cited Demeter v. Dominion Life Assurance Co. (1982), 35 O.R. (2d) 560 (C.A.) wherein it was held that “[t]he basic rule of public policy which is not disputed is that the courts will not recognize a benefit accruing to a criminal from his crime”.[1]
The Ontario Court of Appeal in Charlton Re, 1968 CarswellOnt 331 found that “it is well settled law that one who has killed another by a criminal act cannot succeed to that other’s property either under a will or under an intestacy.”[2]
Therefore, the answer would be no. In the Canadian context, the Sicilian women would not be able to inherit the man’s estate because of her own wrongful act. Essentially, she would be prohibited from inheriting as a named beneficiary, and she would be unable to take on a total or even partial intestacy pursuant to the Succession Law Reform Act. Accordingly, the Sicilian woman would be treated as if she predeceased the man for the purposes of distributing his estate.
However, in Dhingra v. Dhingra Estate, the Ontario Court of Appeal held that the Slayer Rule did not apply to those found not criminally responsible of murder.[3] Although we are speaking in the context of a legend, there is no evidence that the Sicilian women was ever tried for the man’s murder where a not criminally responsible verdict was rendered. Therefore, whether the not criminally responsible exception to the Slayer Rule would apply here, is unknown. Nonetheless, it is important to note that a criminal conviction is not necessary for the Slayer Rule to apply.[4]
The tale of the Moor’s Head meets the Slayer Rule with one simple truth – no one harvests an inheritance from a killing.
—
[1] Oldfield at para 14.
[2][2] Charlton Re at para 6.
[3] Dhingra v. Dhingra Estate, 2012 ONCA 261 at paras 22 & 27.
[4] Charlton Re, at para 6.
Written by: Jessica Homer
Posted on: September 22, 2026
Categories: Commentary, WEL Newsletter
Over the final two weeks of August, I had the opportunity to explore parts of Italy for the first time, and ended my travels in Taormina, Sicily.
If you have ever seen season two of The White Lotus, you may be familiar with the legend of the Moor’s Head, and if you have ever been to Sicily, you will recall the plethora of ceramic shops that display unique hand-made sculptures depicting the island’s famous legend.
The most well-known version of the legend tells the story of a Sicilian woman who fell in love with a man from the Middle East on the island. When the woman discovered that he was married with a family back home, she murdered him in his sleep and cut off his head. The woman then used his head as a pot to grow basil. Her neighbours became so envious of her thriving basil plant that they had ceramic vases crafted in resemblance. Today, the Sicilian Moor’s Heads continue to line balconies in Sicily and remain a symbol for betrayal and infidelity.
Naturally, this got me thinking about estates law and the Slayer Rule. If they were married, would the Sicilian woman be able to inherit the man’s estate?
In accordance with public policy and rooted in equity, Canadian law maintains that no one should benefit from their own wrongdoing. The Supreme Court of Canada in Oldfield v. Transamerica Life Insurance Co. of Canada, 2002 SCC 22 cited Demeter v. Dominion Life Assurance Co. (1982), 35 O.R. (2d) 560 (C.A.) wherein it was held that “[t]he basic rule of public policy which is not disputed is that the courts will not recognize a benefit accruing to a criminal from his crime”.[1]
The Ontario Court of Appeal in Charlton Re, 1968 CarswellOnt 331 found that “it is well settled law that one who has killed another by a criminal act cannot succeed to that other’s property either under a will or under an intestacy.”[2]
Therefore, the answer would be no. In the Canadian context, the Sicilian women would not be able to inherit the man’s estate because of her own wrongful act. Essentially, she would be prohibited from inheriting as a named beneficiary, and she would be unable to take on a total or even partial intestacy pursuant to the Succession Law Reform Act. Accordingly, the Sicilian woman would be treated as if she predeceased the man for the purposes of distributing his estate.
However, in Dhingra v. Dhingra Estate, the Ontario Court of Appeal held that the Slayer Rule did not apply to those found not criminally responsible of murder.[3] Although we are speaking in the context of a legend, there is no evidence that the Sicilian women was ever tried for the man’s murder where a not criminally responsible verdict was rendered. Therefore, whether the not criminally responsible exception to the Slayer Rule would apply here, is unknown. Nonetheless, it is important to note that a criminal conviction is not necessary for the Slayer Rule to apply.[4]
The tale of the Moor’s Head meets the Slayer Rule with one simple truth – no one harvests an inheritance from a killing.
—
[1] Oldfield at para 14.
[2][2] Charlton Re at para 6.
[3] Dhingra v. Dhingra Estate, 2012 ONCA 261 at paras 22 & 27.
[4] Charlton Re, at para 6.
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