By Sheldon Spackman

County of Wetaskiwin

Man charged in fatal fire found not guilty

Oct 12, 2023 | 10:07 AM

One of three people charged in a fatal fire in the County of Wetaskiwin two years ago has been found not guilty.

Jake Ernest Lee Green, 39, of Maskwacis, was found not guilty of second-degree murder, and arson-disregard for human life, in Wetaskiwin Court of King’s Bench on Oct. 6, 2023, and ordered for discharge. The decision followed a September jury trial held in Wetaskiwin.

It was on June 23, 2021, just after 7:30 a.m., when Wetaskiwin RCMP were called to a structure fire on a rural property in the Usona district of the County of Wetaskiwin.

The RCMP Major Crimes Unit responded and on June 24, human remains were located at the property. Mounties say an autopsy was completed at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Edmonton on June 25.

Green and two other co-accused, Linden Buffalo, 34, of Maskwacis, and Donovan Lightning, 31, of Wetaskiwin, were charged with the murder of Clifford Stauffer and arson with disregard for human life.

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Buffalo and Lightning have their matters returning to Wetaskiwin Court of King’s Bench on Oct. 31, 2023.

Related: Jury trial scheduled for all three accused in County of Wetaskiwin fatal fire

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