The defense and prosecution agreed on a judge rather than a jury trial.

The trial, which took more than two years and attracted news media attention in China as well as Canada, underlined how Vancouver has become a global sanctuary for foreign money moving from Asia to North America. Mr. Yuan was a millionaire who had gamed the Canadian immigration system, building a business and acquiring Canadian real estate worth millions of dollars.

Mr. Zhao, whose wife is Mr. Yuan’s cousin, was portrayed by the defense as a “well-adjusted” and law-abiding man who had been provoked by an indecent proposal from Mr. Yuan asking to marry his daughter. Mr. Zhao did not have murderous intent, his lawyer said, despite the crime’s violent aftermath, and so was guilty of manslaughter, not murder.

But the prosecutor countered that Mr. Zhao had confessed the killing to the police, including that he had used a power saw to cut up the body. As the judge read aloud the decision, Mr. Zhao, who was wearing a navy blue suit, stared forward calmly, listening intently to his interpreter.

The judge said the case had hinged on Mr. Zhao’s mental state at the time of the shooting and whether he had the intent necessary for the crime to qualify as murder.

There will be a hearing next week to set a date for sentencing. He could face up to life in prison.

“The verdict brings to an end what is surely one of Canada’s most gruesome killings, made all the more interesting by the fact that it happened in the wealthy and virtually crime-free enclave of West Vancouver,” Mr. Johnson said.