EDITOR’S NOTE: The headline for this story originally said Nickerson had been sentenced, which was incorrect. It has been corrected and we regret the error.
A man on trial for second-degree murder in relation to a double homicide northeast of Edmonton in 2017 has been found guilty of a lesser charge in one of the deaths.
Ray Nickerson was on trial for two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of 39-year-old Terry Sutton and 40-year-old Jason Williams.
The men, who were neighbours of Nickerson, were found fatally shot — one in the head, the other in the abdomen — in the village of Chipman, Alta., on April 2, 2017.
Nickerson had pleaded not guilty to the charges when his trial began earlier this month.
In court on Wednesday, the jury found Nickerson not guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Sutton. Nickerson was found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter in the death of Williams.
At the beginning of the trial, Justice Eric Macklin said the defence would argue that Nickerson acted in self defence.
The Crown told the jury the crime occurred after a dispute about fireworks the victims launched for Sutton’s wife’s birthday.
Nickerson is scheduled to be sentenced on April 20. Chipman is located about 70 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.
— With files from Sarah Ryan, Global News.