The six man, six woman jury convicted James Leopold of manslaughter in the death of Laura Lee Robertson Wednesday in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia.
The jury stayed behind closed doors for four hours discussing Leopold's fate. The judge gave them three options: find Leopold guilty of murder, not guilty of murder, or guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.
"We knew it was a possibility based on the evidence we had available," says Crown Prosecutor Leigh-Ann Bryson. "Clearly the jury paid a lot of attention during the trial and considered the verdicts open to them."
One of the key issues was to decide whether they believed Leopold was provoked.
The court heard evidence that Robertson bit Leopold's penis during oral sex. Leopold said he reacted to the pain and struck her in the neck, accidentally killing her. The next day he put her in his van and took her body to a wooded area in Greenfield, N.S.
The jury chose to find Leopold guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter, not what the Robertson family wanted.
"Let down. I didn't expect any less. Jamie had the opportunity to crush my entire family to turn our lives upside down for eternity and I didn't expect any less," says Robertson's daughter, Amanda Jones. "At the end of the day I would have never been settled with the verdict, whether it was second-degree murder, either way, we can't bring her back."
"I think justice was served," says Leopold's father James Leopold. "It's sad on both sides. That is all I can say."
Leopold's sentencing will take place on June 27. The crown says there's a wide range of options available for a manslaughter charge and it will depend on the specific circumstances of this case.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Kayla Hounsell
