A former medical student at Dalhousie has been found not guilty of first-degree murder but guilty of second-degree murder in the death of 22-year-old Taylor Samson.
Media reports on the verdict emerged from the courtroom on Saturday evening in the case of William Sandeson.
The 12-member jury had been nearing the end of its third day of deliberations when the verdict was reached.
Sandeson shot and Sampson, a fellow Dal student, in a drug deal gone wrong at a Halifax apartment in 2015.
During the re-trial, Sandeson testified he shot the 22-year-old in self defence, and after three days of deliberations the jury agreed the murder was not planned or premeditated.
That’s the main difference in the two murder charges, first-degree involves planning and is thought out while second-degree is intentional, but it’s done in the heat of the moment.
A new trial was ordered after Sandeson won an appeal of a guilty verdict in his first case and the appeal judge ruled a mistrial should have been declared over the way evidence was collected by a private investigator.
The second-degree murder conviction comes with a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison with parole eligibility after 10 years.
Sandeson will be sentenced on April 20-21 in Halifax.
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