He had little chance of acquittal IMO. And no. I give him no credit. I give all the credit to LE investigators who know how to deal with monsters like him, and how to appeal to their egos and stupidity by pretending to give them a way out, "Accidents happen, man. We know you're a good guy. You're just like us. If you tell us where he is then everyone will see what a good guy you are and that this was not intentional, just an accident."
LE knew what to say and how to say it to get him to reveal info. AA is not an intelligent person and he is likely very used to getting away with everything and fooling people, like his mom, so he probably felt he could talk his way into pretending this was an accident and get away with murder.
He deserves no pity and no credit, IMO. He gave none to innocent Piqui or his ex.