BC Ferries officer guilty in Queen of the North trial

The jury in the Queen of the North trial has reached a guilty verdict in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.

Former BC Ferries navigation officer Karl Lilgert has been convicted of two charges of criminal negligence causing death.

Passengers Gerald Foisy and Shirley Rosette were presumed to have drowned when the ship sank on March 22, 2006, just south of Prince Rupert.

The trial began in January and the jury began deliberating on Tuesday May 7.

Lilgert's lawyer, Glen Orris, told the jury Lilgert was doing his job to the best of his ability the night the ship sank, and there was no evidence he showed wanton disregard for the safety of lives.

Orris said if Lilgert made a mistake, it was an honest mistake and not a crime, and asked the jury to allow his client to get on with what was left of his shattered life.

But Crown prosecutors said Lilgert's testimony that he made two course corrections to avoid a smaller vessel just before the ship struck Gil Island was "completely unbelievable, fabricated and concocted."

Crown prosecutor Robert Wright said the jury should ignore Lilgert's explanation of the moments before the ferry ran aground, as well as testimony from his former lover, quartermaster Karen Briker, who also testified Lilgert was actively navigating the ship.

Wright pointed to electronic records that showed the ship did not alter course for 20 minutes before the crash, saying that showed that Lilgert was not doing his job.