A teenager who stabbed his stepfather 35 times has walked free after a jury found him not guilty of murder.
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty to murder on the basis of self-defence after being accused of fatally stabbing his stepfather on September 7, 2022.
After a week-long trial, the jury deliberated for a matter of hours and unanimously found the teenager not guilty of murder and the alternative charge of manslaughter in Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Justice Frances Williams told the Sunshine Coast teenager he was discharged and allowed to walk free from the dock, with gasps of relief from family members in the gallery.
The court had been told the teen – aged 16 at the time of the incident – was scared and thought his stepfather was going to kill him on September 7.
After a tense conversation where the stepfather called the teen “weak” and a “pussy”, the boy tried to diffuse the situation by going to the toilet.
But the pair got into a struggle where the stepfather grabbed the boy by the collar.
The boy pulled a 23cm knife from his pocket and slashed at his stepfather in an attempt to break free of a “bear hug”.
