After deliberating for four hours, a jury found Robert Adam Van Dusen not guilty last week of second-degree murder in the 2012 killing of Ryan Saint Ange.
Van Dusen had been accused of taking the final shot that ended Saint Ange’s life in his 56th Street basement suite in Abbotsford on Jan. 14, 2012. But after a trial lasting more than five weeks, a jury of seven women and five men found they couldn’t convict Van Dusen of Saint Ange’s murder.
Saint Ange was killed following a dispute at his home.
His former friend, Shayne Vauthrin, had previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter with a firearm and testified against Van Dusen.
In opening remarks, Crown counsel made clear that Vauthrin’s testimony would form the core of its case. During those opening remarks, Crown counsel said that several months before Saint Ange’s death, Vauthrin had moved out of the basement suite where the killing took place because of a “falling out” with his roommate.
The night of the killing, Vauthrin had viewed a Facebook page advertising for sale belongings he believed were rightfully his. The Facebook page belonged to Saint Ange, whom Vauthrin had considered a friend and who now lived in his former room.
Crown had argued that Vauthrin had gone to the home to retrieve his belongings and to “teach the occupants a lesson.”
The Crown said Van Dusen had accompanied Vauthrin to the home and killed Saint Ange after Vauthrin had first attacked the victim.
But in coming to a verdict of not guilty for Van Dusen, the jury found that Crown counsel had not proven their case beyond a reasonable doubt.