The jury rendered its verdicts last night at about 10 p.m. after spending the day deliberating.
Jurors acquitted Walkiewicz, 55, on two counts of arson damaging property, determining he didn't know that the blast would severely damage neighbouring homes.
Walkiewicz will remain in custody pending a sentencing date.
In finding Walkiewicz guilty, jurors believed the Crown's assertion that he blew up his Duchess Dr. home on Aug. 28, 2006 because he couldn't stand the fact he was being forced out by his "hated ex-wife."
Crown prosecutor John Kingdon told jurors there was a court order to sell the home, and Walkiewicz was to have closed the deal on the day of the explosion. Walkiewicz was opposed to the court order, Kingdon said.
Walkiewicz's ex-wife — the two separated in the late 1990s — and daughter were coming to the home later that morning to pick up personal belongings.
"He acted out of animus, out of hatred for his (ex-)wife," Kingdon told the jury during his closing argument. "The destruction of the house was exactly what Mr. Walkiewicz wanted. He knew that if you fill a house with natural gas and ignite it, you're going to destroy the entire house."
Kingdon said the timing of the explosion wasn't an "absurd coincidence."
"Accidents can happen, but accidents do not happen on the very day the homeowner is being forced out of his house by his hated ex-wife," the Crown said.
Walkiewicz and a passerby were seriously injured in the explosion. Stephen Allen, 53, had just finished his morning jog and was walking by the home when he was hit by debris from the blast. He needed more than 120 stitches to close wounds on his legs and face.
Court also heard that it took more than one year to repair neighbouring homes.
Kingdon said evidence presented by Ontario Fire Marshal's Office investigators shows that a pipe wrench was found next to the furnace inside the home after the blast, suggesting it was used to loosen a pipe on the furnace to let gas into the home. Evidence also showed that one of the pipes was unscrewed.
The jury also heard from Walkiewicz's neighbours, including Grace Garland, who testified that he "terribly disliked" his ex-wife.
Furthermore, Walkiewicz was injured in a car accident, which forced him to stop working months prior to the explosion, and a friend testified that he had threatened suicide six months before the blast.
Evidence presented to the jury "paints a picture of a man pretty much pushed to the brink of desperation," Kingdon said.
lrosella@mississauga.net
