A jury has ruled an Ottawa man is not guilty in the slaying of a street person in a downtown underpass two years ago.
Rickey Roger Hankey, 37, was originally charged with second-degree murder in the slaying of Steven Beriault, 21, who was known as "Cactus" to many living on Ottawa's streets.
The jury ruled that Hankey was acting in self defense when he stabbed Beriault multiple times after he was confronted by several people as he walked through an underpass at Rideau Street just after midnight on June 14, 2006.
It took the jury 12 hours to reach the verdict.
