A Court of Queen’s Bench Justice in Prince Albert found 55-year-old Bernie Herman guilty of the lesser charge, saying the Crown did not prove its first-degree murder case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Herman had been charged with the first degree murder of 26-year-old Braden Herman (no relation) in May 2021. The younger man’s naked body was found in a wooded area on the northeast outskirts of Prince Albert. The cause of death was a fatal gunshot wound to his chest from an RCMP service weapon.

During the trial, court heard about an ongoing sexual relationship between the two men.

(photo-courtesy of courthouses.com)