A jury has found William Jordan not guilty of manslaughter in the death of Anthony Dwyer.
Jordan, 21, was charged after throwing a punch on the Saint John boardwalk in July 2018 that sent 54-year-old Dwyer to the ground.
Dwyer, a musician and naval veteran, sustained serious injuries when his head hit the concrete. He didn’t regain consciousness and was taken off life-support in hospital three days later.
Initially, 16 days were set aside for Jordan’s trial.
After about three hours of deliberation on Wednesday, the jury returned the verdict, bringing the trial to a close in 7 days.
Dwyer’s son and daughter were in the courtroom as the verdict was announced.
After Jordan was found not guilty, Kalyn Dwyer went up to him and hugged him.
“I just wanted to make sure that Will knew that there’s no anger from us anymore,” she said outside the courthouse.
“When I walked in Friday morning and I saw his mother” Dwyer said, “I am a mother of three children and I could not imagine being in her shoes.”
“So I just wanted to thank them for having to be part of this process with us and apologize that this is the terms on which we met,” she said.
All witnesses who saw the confrontation between Anthony Dwyer and Jordan testified that it appeared Dwyer instigated things.
“His actions displayed on that night were not indicative of who he was,” his daughter said. She said if he were here today, he’d apologize.
Jordan declined to speak after the verdict.
Both families said they’re just looking to heal. “Letting this go is how I’m going to heal,” Kalyn Dwyer said.