A jury has found a Prince George man guilty of manslaughter in the 2012 death of a Calgary man.
The verdict against Joel Christopher Marchand, 31, for the death of Chris Ball, 39, was reached after a 10-day trial.
Ball was taken off life support at Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton 11 days after he was allegedly sucker punched during the early morning hours of July 23, 2012 outside a Fort St. John bar.
Marchand and one other man, Ted Metcalfe of Kelowna, were initially charged with aggravated assault and assault causing bodily harm but when Ball died, the aggravated assault charge was upgraded to manslaughter. Ball's family had been seeking a charge of second-degree murder.
Charges against Metcalfe were stayed in February 2013. Marchand also continued to face the charge of assault causing bodily harm when the trial began.
"We're obviously happy the guy was convicted, but I really wish my brother was still here," said brother Jon Ball.
"It doesn't really mean much to me at all. I'm glad that this guy's going to suffer for what he did ... but it's all just such a waste. I would say that if these (individuals involved in the incident) had met my brother in a different setting, they would have loved him."
