A Thunder Bay, Ont., man has been found guilty of manslaughter for throwing a trailer hitch at an Indigenous woman who died six months later.

Superior Court Justice Helen Pierce delivered her ruling against Brayden Bushby on Monday, following a four-day trial last month.

Bushby, 21, had already pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, admitting he threw the object from a passing vehicle that struck Barbara Kentner during the early morning hours of Jan. 29, 2017. The aggravated assault charge has been stayed, because of the manslaughter conviction. Kentner, 34, died in July 2017.

"I am satisfied that the Crown has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Bushby's action, in striking Ms. Kentner with the trailer hitch, was a contributing cause of her death that is not trivial or insignificant and which accelerated her death," Pierce said while reading her reasons for the judgment.

Kentner had underlying liver conditions, although the cause of her death, according to the testimony of pathologist Dr. Toby Rose, was pneumonia due to the rupture of her bowel because of blunt-force trauma.

During the trial, Bushby was described as having been "rowdy" prior to the encounter with Kenter, and having vomited twice after drinking alcohol all day. After heaving the hitch out of the window and striking her, Bushby was heard laughing by one of the occupants of the vehicle. Both Kentner and her sister, who was with her, heard him say that he "got one."

Barbara Kentner, 34, died on July 4, 2017. (Jody Porter/CBC)

The judge described throwing the trailer hitch as an "objectively dangerous" act. She referenced testimony that Bushby had picked up the trailer hitch with the original intent to throw it through somebody's window.

"He knew the hitch was heavy enough to cause damage," Pierce said.

Prior to starting to read her decision, Pierce expressed her condolences to Kentner's family.

"I understand she is greatly missed. I am truly sorry for her loss," Pierce said.

A manslaughter conviction carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, with no mandatory minimum. Bushby is due to be sentenced on Feb. 9.