'It was a really fluke, tragic situation': Guelph man found not guilty of manslaughter after tragic neighbour dispute
CTV
A Guelph man has been found not guilty of manslaughter after an argument led to the death of his neighbour in July 2020.
A Guelph man has been found not guilty of manslaughter after an argument led to the death of his neighbour in July 2020.
Justice Gordon Lemon’s written decision found that Paul Hanlon acted in self-defence when a verbal dispute over a dog peeing on the lawn turned physical.
Judge Lemon’s written ruling stated that Hanlon, 43-years-old at the time, and 59-year-old Alex Campagnaro were neighbours for almost 20 years until a dispute led to the death of Campagnaro about two and a half years ago.
Hanlon was on trial for manslaughter in November 2022. The not guilty verdict was handed down in a Guelph courtroom on Jan. 4.
Brennan Smart, Hanlon’s lawyer explained the sequence of events that occurred during Hanlon’s testimony.
Smart said the wives of the two neighbours had a verbal dispute over their dogs the day before Campagnaro’s death. Hanlon’s dog is a boxer and Campagnaro’s is a smaller breed, said to be unleashed, according to the court documents.
“Mrs. Moffit-Campagnaro took her dog out for a walk. Before she could leash the dog, it ran across the yard and urinated on the Hanlons’ front lawn,” said Lemon’s written decision.
