A 34-year-old man who had been on trial for first-degree murder has been found guilty of a lesser charge in connection with a fatal attack at the Calgary Remand Centre.
Marlon Ledesma was convicted of second-degree murder Thursday in the death of 40-year-old Alvin Chiniquay in September 2016.
Ledesma and Chiniquay were cellmates when the younger of the two attacked the older man on September 9, 2016. Chiniquay was knocked out and never regained consciousness after suffering irreversible brain damage during the ordeal. The 40-year-old died in hospital on September 22, 2016.
During the trial proceedings, the court heard Ledesma had left his lifeless cellmate on the floor for several minutes before alerting remand centre staff. Ledesma told staff he had heard voices and may have harmed someone.
Ledesma represented himself in court.
The presiding judge determined the Crown had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Ledesma’s fatal attack on Chiniquay had been planned and deliberate and the accused was found guilty of second-degree murder.
Gladue, psychiatric and pre-sentence reviews have been ordered and a date for a sentencing hearing has yet to be determined.
A second-degree-murder conviction carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for a minimum of 10 years.
Ledesma had been remanded in 2016 in connection with a double aggravated assault at Alpha House that he was later found guilty of.
