However, Judge Sterling Sanderman found Svekla not guilty on charges of second-degree murder in the death of another sex worker, 19-year-old Rachel Quinney. Her body was found in a wooded area east of Edmonton in June 2004. Svekla told police he stumbled over the body while smoking crack-cocaine with another prostitute.
The 40-year-old had been on trial for the past 31/2 months.
Sanderman told the packed courtroom that although it's human nature to want to hold someone accountable for the "cruel, callous behaviour directed towards two vulnerable human beings," Svekla can't be held responsible "for everything" just because he had a woman's body in a hockey bag.
The judge said he was convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Svekla killed Innes, but that there was not enough evidence to prove the auto mechanic played any role in the younger woman's death.
Before Tuesday's court hearing, friends and family of Rachel Quinney expressed fears that Svekla might be acquitted in the young woman's death.
"He'll be held accountable for something, but not what he should be held accountable for," said Danielle Boudreau, a friend of Quinney who sat through the entire trial.
Svekla is the first person charged by Project Kare, a joint task force between Edmonton city police and RCMP that is investigating the deaths and disappearances of more than 20 women since 1983, all of them prostitutes or others in what police call "high-risk lifestyles."
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