Edmonton man acquitted of Canada Day murder

An Edmonton jury has found Augustine Poitras not guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Shane Howarth on Canada Day two years ago.

The decision was announced at 3 p.m. on Friday, one day after deliberations began.

Poitras, 43, was accused of stabbing Howarth during an argument at the transit shelter near Telus Plaza just before midnight on July 1, 2009.

There were dozens of people at the bus stop when the stabbing occurred and the incident was captured by a security camera, although much of the footage viewed during the trial was grainy.

Poitras’s defence lawyer suggested it was an acquaintance of Poitras who could have been responsible for the stabbing. He argued police had “tunnel vision” in their investigation after seeing Poitras on the security video and releasing his image to the media.

Poitras walked into a police station several days after the stabbing and identified himself as the person involved in the incident. But he denied that he stabbed Poitras and said that he “took a couple of swings.”

The video of Poitras’s interview with police was viewed during the trial, although he did not testify.

Crown prosecutors, however, argued that only Poitras could have been responsible for the killing. They suggested his interview with police was filled with “half truths.” Poitras’s motive in going to the police station was to deflect attention from himself — after his picture and description had been released to the media, they said.