WINNIPEG — A Winnipeg woman has been found guilty of manslaughter for killing a man by running him over with a minivan when she was 17.
Marcel Murdoch, 40, was killed and his son Craig Hanslip, 24, was seriously injured in the 2011 crash.
A violent brawl had spilled out of a Garfield Street house party in the city’s West End. At least 10 people were involved and were using bricks, hockey sticks and bear spray as weapons, witnesses said.
The accused can’t be named due to her age at the time. She admitted she was behind the wheel when the minivan struck the two men but said it was an accident.
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While testifying in her own defence last week, she told the jury she was afraid of getting hurt in the melee and she didn’t see the two men.
Crown prosecutors painted a very different picture. They argued she intentionally targeted the father and son after a series of altercations between the two men and her boyfriend on the night in question.
Just before the men were struck, Hanslip and the accused rammed each other’s vehicles on the street, witnesses said. Hanslip jumped out and was standing beside his father when they were hit. Murdoch died at the scene but Hanslip was taken to hospital with a leg wound and spinal injuries. He spent six months in hospital and was in a wheelchair for another six months. He still walks with a cane.
The accused was charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder. She was convicted of the lesser included offence of manslaughter.
Sentencing will take place at a later date.
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