NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. - They were verdicts that virtually no one had expected.
Observers who had camped out at the courthouse in New Westminster for days felt Robert Pickton would be convicted of first-degree murder.
Only if something went terribly wrong, in their minds, could he be acquitted, or maybe there would be a mistrial.
But the shock was palpable Sunday when the jury foreman stood up and replied "not guilty" to first-degree murder in the death of Sereena Abotsway.
Family members of some of the murdered women on the six-count indictment and a subsequent 20-count indictment gasped as the jury foreman read out the verdicts.
That gasp changed to an audible sigh of relief and muffled cheers when the foreman answered guilty of second-degree murder to the count.
A similar scene was acted out as each count was read.
Pickton was found guilty on six counts of second-degree murder, which means a mandatory life sentence for each. A date when he can apply for parole will be set later.
The anger that initially surfaced from the packed courtroom subsided quickly outside as police and Crown took people aside and explained that the sentence was still a life sentence.
Only the amount of time Pickton must serve before being eligible to apply for parole changes - as little as 10 years and not an automatic 25.
The Crown and defence will make arguments Tuesday about the minimum sentence before parole eligibility, and the court will hear victim impact statements as well.
'Ultimately, it's not that surprising," said Alan Young, a law professor at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto.
Young said that perhaps the jury had difficulty being convinced the murders were planned and deliberate - an essential element to find a person guilty of first-degree murder "even though in all likelihood they were (planned and deliberate)."
Young said jurors might have been stymied by a lack of direct evidence on the mode of death.
Three of the victims' heads were found in buckets with gunshot wounds but the jurors never heard conclusive evidence of who fired the gun.
Both Young and Vancouver defence lawyer Mark Jette believe there is no chance that Pickton will ever be paroled.
"You don't need first-degree when you have six second-degree murder convictions," said Young.
Jette noted that some of the Crown's key witnesses had credibility problems because of their drug-addicted lifestyle.
"They may not be reliable and the jury may struggle," he said.
Jette said the "planning and deliberate" aspect that must be present in a first-degree conviction requires a high degree of criminal intent.
"And maybe they concluded that he is not capable of planning but had the required intent to murder," Jette said.
In Pickton's case, the jury declined to recommend a minimum date for parole consideration, leaving it to the judge to impose a sentence after he hears arguments from the Crown and defence on Tuesday.
"This is not a person to get life and minimum 15 or 20 (years)," said Jette. "There is a very high likelihood of 25.
"It's up to the parole board anyway and frankly he won't ever get out."
Gordon Rose, a psychology lecturer at Simon Fraser University and an expert on juries, said his studies indicate that "people just don't understand the instructions."
The Pickton jury listened to the judge's instructions for four days - an unusually long time.
While Rose did not study the Pickton jurors, he said people he's interviewed previously believe a person must have a motive to be convicted of first-degree murder.
"No motive and it's second-degree murder. That's a common response," Rose said.
He said others believed that if there is direct evidence then the verdict must be first-degree while some have the impression a first-degree conviction could only result if there was a weapon involved.
The only direct evidence in the Pickton trial came from Lynn Ellingsen, a drug addict who testified she walked into the pig slaughterhouse adjacent to Pickton's trailer and saw him butchering a woman hanging from a hook.
Three of Pickton's victims were shot in the head but the bullets were too damaged to be traced to any weapon, although a .22-calibre handgun was found in his trailer. --The Canadian Press
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