On Sunday morning, a jury delivered its verdict in the trial, finding Ndikuriyo not guilty of second-degree murder. He was also cleared of a charge of attempted murder for slashing Odekunle’s friend Garworh Myers across the face with the same broken bottle.
The jury, which had been deliberating since Friday afternoon, did, however, find Ndikuriyo guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. A sentencing date is to be set early in the new year.
[…]
Defence lawyer Oliver Abergel said Sunday that the statement was the best evidence to support Ndikuriyo. While his client said things that were not in his best interest, “you had to take the statement as as whole,” said Abergel.
“In different ways, he kept expressing that he had to fight his way out of a corner. He felt he was fighting for his life.”
[…]
Abergel said Sunday that the incident was a tragedy for everyone, and noted that his client acknowledged that to police.
“I hurt someone’s family and I cannot do nothing about that. I can only apologize … I feel when people back you into a corner … sometimes you can’t run. Tonight was one of those,” Ndikuriyo said in his statement.
“He never expected anyone to die,” Abergel said on Sunday. “He has been and remains deeply saddened by what happened that day.”
Read Joanne Laucius’s full article: Ottawa Citizen
