George Arsoniadis, who says he killed his often-aggressive sister Helen in self-defence, was found not guilty of second-degree murder as charged.

Justice John Sproat will set a date for his sentencing on July 4 at Milton court to determine how long Arsoniadis will serve in prison.

Time served is doubled in most manslaughter cases, and George has already served nearly two years since his July 11, 2005 arrest.

He showed no emotion when the eight-woman, four-man jury announced the verdict Thursday at 2:45 p.m., after nine hours of deliberation over two days.

A tall man with dark hair, George looked at his lawyers with a straight face after the verdict was read. His sister Anastasia — his only immediate family member who is still alive — was not in attendance yesterday.

“He’s disappointed that he’s not leaving today,” defence attorney Paul O’Marra said. “He’s always maintained that he defended himself, that he had no other option.”

But manslaughter is a result Rudy Koch said the defence is “not displeased with.”

“When we first examined this file, leaving the courthouse with manslaughter would have been a goal,” O’Marra said.

Helen Arsoniadis, 30, was found butchered and parts of her body packaged in the freezer of the 40 Old Mill Rd. penthouse condo she had just moved into with George.

Jurors saw graphic videos of evidence in the apartment, including Helen’s head, which was boiled in a pot and then frozen. The bathtub contained kitty litter, a stained saw, maggots and bloody clothing, and the kitchen sink was clogged with a clump of dark, curly hair and pieces of scalp.

Crown attorney Andrew Goodman wouldn’t comment on the verdict yesterday except to give “accolades to the Halton Police” for providing the video and photographic evidence of the apartment.

Seventy five percent of the body was missing for an autopsy — George told the jury he sent Helen’s torso down the garbage chute and took other parts to an Etobicoke park — so a cause of death was never determined.

George told jurors he loved Helen.

Throughout the trial, she was exposed as a woman with a history of violence. Helen was charged in 2001 with assaulting her mother, though the charge was stayed, and she later said she wanted to kill both her mom and sister.

George, who worked at RBC in downtown Toronto until his arrest, testified he killed Helen while defending himself as she was attacking him on July 3, 2005. This was one day after they moved from Etobicoke into their Oakville condo.

Showing no emotion throughout the trial, George told the court Helen got angry when she found out her futon didn’t fit in the den she was supposed to be sleeping in.

George testified he told Helen he would be living in Oakville for three years and she said, “What about me?”

George said his response, “What about you?” prompted Helen to come at him with a two-pound marble decorative apple, with which she grazed his temple.

A struggle followed and Helen reached for a box of unpacked kitchen knives in his bedroom. That’s when George says, “fearing for my life,” he used his left arm to restrain his sister’s arms and put his right arm around her neck. He says he “squeezed” his right arm for less than 30 seconds before Helen “went limp” and fell to the floor.

The prosecution or police hadn’t heard about either weapon — the marble apple or knives — until George testified during his trial, the Crown attorney said.

Jurors asked if the apple was available during their deliberation and were told it was not.

George didn’t call 911 or try CPR after his sister went unconscious, jurors heard. He testified that minutes after the attack, he dragged Helen to the bathtub to splash water on her face but was unable to revive her.

Less than an hour later, George decided to conceal what happened. He went to Home Depot to buy a hacksaw and to No Frills to buy kitty litter in an effort to absorb the odour.

He told the jury he would never have reported his sister missing if neighbours who complained of a putrid stench — which George tried to pass off as burning hamburger — hadn’t led police to his apartment.

“It’s a unique case, a unique set of circumstances,” O’Marra said.

After presenting their case, the defence lawyer said they were “optimistic” that George might be cleared.

The court heard from both George and his sister, Anastasia, that Helen was physically and verbally abusive to both of them and their mother. They recounted stories of her pinching, kicking and punching them as well as throwing wine bottles, plates and glasses at them.

Anastasia testified Helen would call George “worthless, useless, a loser, not a man.”

Described by friends and co-workers as a shy and private guy who kept to himself and didn’t show any emotion, the court also heard from a forensic psychologist who said George had “flat affect” and “emotional detachment.”

Dr. Nathan Pollock testified George’s emotionless state might have allowed him to carry through with his sister’s dismemberment, while the average person could not.

“He had a possibility, a hope of freedom,” O’Marra said. “The jury believes he crossed the line.”