The lone person facing criminal charges following the Algo Centre Mall collapse has been found not guilty.
During a hearing spanning four hours on Thursday, Justice Edward Gareau found former engineer Robert Wood not guilty of criminal negligence.
Wood was charged with two counts of criminal negligence causing death and one count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm, following the deadly Elliot Lake mall collapse in 2012 that claimed the lives of Lucie Aylwin and Doloris Perizzolo.
Wood inspected the mall weeks before it collapsed. Gareau said there is not enough evidence to support criminal negligence beyond a reasonable doubt.
The judge said Wood must accept a 'moral responsibility' for his actions and those actions will follow him for the rest of his life.
Gareau said there was there was not enough evidence to support criminal negligence beyond a reasonable doubt. He called Wood's actions 'sloppy', but not criminal.
"This was a tragedy," said Robert MacRae, Wood's lawyer, in his lone comment to the media.
Wood did not speak with reporters. The families of Aylwin and Perizzolo were in court on Thursday, but they left quickly without speaking to reporters.
CTV's Jairus Patterson was in court during the proceedings and below is a full recap of the day.
