(JESSICA WALLACE / iNFOnews.ca)
November 03, 2015 - 12:23 PM
KAMLOOPS - A jury has found David Peter Gordon, a man accused of setting a fire which killed a woman sleeping in his home, guilty on one count of manslaughter and two counts of arson.
The decision came shortly after 11 a.m. today, Nov. 3, after less than a day of deliberations.
After a night of drinking on April 25, 2013, Gordon and his girlfriend returned to his house at 927 St. Paul Street and had a fight which broke up after police became involved. Officers took Gordon’s girlfriend away from the home and placed her in a shelter for the evening.
During the trial, Gordon’s roommate William Tomporowski testified Gordon remained drunk and aggressive after the fight. He said Gordon threatened to kill him and Cheryl William, a woman who joined him at the house, after telling them he lit a fire in his bedroom.
The fire eventually spread throughout the house which everyone was able to escape from, except William. She was eventually removed from the home by firefighters and died at Royal Inland Hospital four days later.
After his arrest, Gordon confessed to police he lit the fire. That confession was played for the jury during trial. Crown prosecutor Neil Flanagan called on several witnesses, including police officers, fire fighters, a pathologist, a toxicologist and Gordon’s ex-girlfriend.
Gordon’s lawyer, Ken Tessovitch, did not call any evidence.
Gordon will return to court at a later date to receive his sentence.
To read more stories from the trial, click here.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015