Charges were dropped Tuesday morning against a Canadian soldier who had been facing a court martial over the shooting death of his fellow soldier and friend in Afghanistan more than two years ago.
Master Cpl. Robbie Fraser had been charged with manslaughter and negligence in the performance of military duty.
His gun allegedly discharged on Aug. 9, 2006 in the cramped quarters of a Canadian Forces G-Wagon outside Kandahar, killing Master Cpl. Jeffrey Walsh, of Regina.
"But today the defence put forward this theory that in fact it could have been a pure accident, where nobody actually pulled the trigger of the weapon that caused the death," said CTV Calgary's Kelly Dehn from outside the court.
The defence argued successfully on Tuesday morning in Shilo, Man. that the accident happened as a result of the way the guns were stored in the vehicle.
New evidence in the form of a ballistics report raised reasonable doubt Fraser had pulled the trigger, or that he was even holding the gun when it went off.
"In effect what they're saying this morning is two weapons were lying in the back of a G-Wagon and the heavier weapon on the top of the lighter weapon underneath caused the gun actually to fire, that it dislocated the locking mechanism and actually pulled the trigger which caused the death of the soldier in Afghanistan two years ago," Dehn told Â鶹´«Ã½net.
The ballistics report also showed Fraser had no gunfire residue on his hands.
The two men were close friends, and Walsh's family has always maintained his death was simply a tragic accident.
After the Tuesday decision, Walsh's widow hugged Fraser.
"They were quite happy with the fact the charges were withdrawn," Dehn said.
Fraser spoke briefly to reporters, saying the decision reflected what he always knew to be true -- that the incident was an accident.
