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Haverty murder trial Day 11: THE VERDICT: Not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter

Victim's mother breaks down in tears in courtroom after verdict read out loud
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Shawn Haverty. Tony Saxon/GuelphToday

Sean Wade Haverty was found not guilty of murder in the death of Chris Schweitzer Friday night, but was found guilty of manslaughter.

The jury took six-and-a-half hours to reach a verdict, delivering it at just before 7:30 p.m. on the 11th day of the trial.

"We find Sean Haverty not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter," the jury foreperson read aloud at Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Haverty remained stone faced in the prisoner's box as the verdict was read.

Schweitzer's mother broke into tears and left the courtroom.

Six other family members followed shortly after, one man muttering "that's bullshit" loudly.

The family did not comment to media on the verdict.

Crown attorney Judith MacDonald also declined to comment.

Haverty is scheduled to return to court June 27th for sentencing.

Defence counsel Ari Goldkind called it "a very fair verdict."

"I'm very happy with the verdict, which is not something a defence lawyer says everyday to a manslaughter finding," Goldkind said outside the courtroom.

The jury went out at 1 p.m. and the six-and-a-half hour deliberation included lunch and dinner breaks.

They came back to Justice Nancy Mossip on one occasion with a question about her charge to them earlier that morning.

"They actually asked themselves the question that I asked them to ask them, which was 'why did this happen?' Not 'how?' Not 'where?' It's not science, but why did this happen between these two men. What was going on in Sean Haverty's mind that day," Goldkind said.

"My sense is ... somewhere in their (the jury's) minds they knew that if Sean Haverty was in his right mind that day, this would never have happened.

"Were they going to give him a pass with a complete 'not guilty'? No. But did they think he was a cold-blooded, planning and deliberate murderer, given what all of the witnesses said about how he acted and seemed that day? No to that as well."

Goldkind said immediately after the trial his client was "barely able to process it" when he spoke to him.

The day of the murder, June 18, 2015, was the culmination of ongoing animosity between the two men, who lived two doors apart on Tiffany St. E.

Haverty got very drunk, went over to Schweitzer's house and confronted him at the door. Schweitzer smashed a glass bong across his face. Haverty fired two shots from a .38 Special, one hitting Schweitzer in the neck and killing him in minutes.

Haverty's claim all along has been self defence. The Crown claimed he plotted the murder, waiting for Schweitzer to come home before walking over to his house intent on ending his life.


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Tony Saxon

About the Author: Tony Saxon

Tony Saxon has had a rich and varied 30 year career as a journalist, an award winning correspondent, columnist, reporter, feature writer and photographer.
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