For a second time, a jury has found a Vanderhoof man guilty of manslaughter with a firearm in the shooting death of his fiancee.
The verdict for Kayne Sabbe Penner was issued Saturday following a 10-day trial in B.C. Supreme Court at the Prince George courthouse. A hearing on sentencing is scheduled for May 30.
The outcome stems from the Dec. 20, 2012 shooting death of April Johnson, 18. Penner was handling a .22-calibre semiautomatic rifle within the confines of his cousin's trailer home in the community west of Prince George when it went off. The bullet struck Johnson in the stomach and she later died in hospital.
In March 2017, a jury found Penner guilty of the same count and, in September 2017, he was sentenced to four years in prison. But in March 2019, the B.C. Court of Appeal ordered a new trial over concerns about the charge the trial judge issued to the jury prior to deliberations.
During the first trial, the court heard that the rifle had been leaning against the home's kitchen counter with the safety off when Penner picked it up. Although told it was unloaded, Penner later told police he was "checking it" and, in a video of the interview, he was seen motioning as if he was pulling back the rifle's slide to check the chamber.
Penner said he did not see a bullet in the chamber but, as he was holding it horizontally, it went off. Johnson, who was getting ready to go target shooting, was standing by the home's door a short distance away.
