Jury finds man guilty of manslaughter in 2016 rooming house fire that killed 2

A man accused of setting a fire at a rooming house that killed two people in July 2016 has been found guilty of manslaughter by a Winnipeg jury.

Edward Wade Beardy was found guilty Wednesday of two counts of manslaughter and arson with disregard for life in the fire that killed Brenda Campbell, 51, and John McKinnon Bendon, 61.

Beardy, 38, had initially been charged with two counts of second-degree murder.

His co-accused, Jonathon Graham Barstad, 36, pleaded guilty on Monday to second-degree murder and arson with disregard for life for his role in the fire.

"I think the jury's verdict is clear that recklessness was a common intention. But there was no intent to kill, or knowledge that somebody would be killed," Beardy's lawyer, Kathy Bueti, said Wednesday following the verdict.

Beardy helped set the blaze as part of a "show of force" for the gang he was associated with, Crown prosecutor Erika Dolcetti told the jury during closing arguments in his trial Tuesday.

Beardy's defence counsel Katherine Bueti argued her client was only loosely associated with the gang and that the Crown's case was "a pure work of fiction."

The verdict came hours after the jury began deliberations Wednesday afternoon at Winnipeg's Court of Queen's Bench. A date for sentencing has not yet been set.

Beardy and Barstad were arrested in July 2017, nearly a year to the day after the fire at the three-storey home on Austin Street N. in the North Point Douglas neighbourhood.

At the time, police said the Campbell and McKinnon Bendon were not the intended victims and had no connections with gangs or the drug trade.

Bueti said her client is still processing the verdict.

"Obviously it's not the verdict that he wanted, but it certainly is better than what it could have been," she said.

The trial was heard by Justice Candace Grammond.

DNA, video evidence 

Seven people were in the house at the time of the July 7, 2016, fire, but only five escaped. 

A fire investigator testified during the trial that the blaze was started in two places using an accelerant.

During closing arguments Tuesday, Crown prosecutor Erika Dolcetti said that Beardy set a fire at the back of the building.

Beardy's DNA was found on a hoodie that was discarded near the scene, court heard. He was caught on video wearing the hoodie, appearing to be running away from the fire, Crown prosecutor Dolcetti told the jury.

During the trial, witnesses testified that the house was used for drug trafficking, and that some of the suites were used to stash drugs.

Witnesses also testified that people wearing Manitoba Warriors gear had been intimidating residents prior to the fire.

Dolcetti argued the street gang was angry that someone was selling drugs on their turf, and that's why the fire was set. She pointed out that a police witness had testified about Beardy's alleged involvement with the gang, saying he was an associate.

Beardy's lawyer Bueti said her client was not a full-fledged gang member and has physical limitations that would have made it difficult for him to set the fire.

She argued her client "would never be granted that level of trust for something like this."

Manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, but has no minimum sentence unless a firearm is involved.