Verdict in alleged gay-bashing delayed

A B.C. provincial court judge has delayed handing down a verdict against a man accused of a homophobic attack in a Vancouver bar.

Judge Jocelyn Palmer was scheduled to hand down her verdict on Tuesday morning, but adjourned the case until Wednesday without explanation.

Shawn Woodward, 37, is charged with aggravated assault after he punched Richard Dowrey, 62, at the Fountainhead Pub on Davie Street last year.

Dowrey was left with a devastating brain injury.

Woodward admitted to throwing the punch, but claimed Dowrey was making unwanted sexual advances at the bar.

Woodward argued he punched Dowrey in self-defense.

Dowrey has no memory of the assault and did not testify during the trial.

His friends and family, who have called the attack a gay-bashing, were in the courtroom on Tuesday.