A 17-year-old boy has been found not guilty in the ACT Supreme Court over the death of a man in a fight at the Weston Creek Skate Park in September 2020.
It was a month before the boy, then aged 15, was arrested, with police remaining tight-lipped about their investigation, except with references to people getting into arguments online.
Details of the events emerged during the trial, revealing a fight had been organised at the skate park after an angry exchange on Snapchat.
The 18-year-old victim had driven his younger cousin and two other boys to the park.
CCTV footage from across the road shows three cars arriving at the park around the same time.
The victim and his cousin were attacked before they could leave the car, with one group bashing the man on the driver's side, and the other taking on the younger boy on the passenger side.
The man was eventually pulled from the car by his attackers, and at some point was stabbed six times.
A pathologist told the court he would have died within 10 heart beats.
The boy on trial admitted he did stab the victim's cousin.
He said he was trying to protect his friend, who was losing the fight.
He told the court he had found the knife on the ground, but hadn't used it to stab anyone else, but prosecutors said that was a fabrication.
Court examines moment when stabbing was possible
The court heard there was a lull for a moment when those attacking the driver had gone to their ute to retrieve garden tools, which were used to smash the victim's car, when it would have been possible for him to stab the man.
Other evidence against him included blood from both victims in the waist band of his pants, where he stowed the knife, and on other clothing.
A witness also told the court he had seen the boy coming from the direction of the driver's side of the smashed car as he got into his friend's car to leave.
That night, and in the days following, the boy had made admissions to others in the group.
Most of those involved in the fight only learned someone had died the next day.
The boy says he didn't know who had died until he saw a police statement months later.
He told the jury it was only then he realised he hadn't killed anyone, because he hadn't been near the driver.
His lawyers put forward their own theory about who had killed the man, pointing to one of those seen fighting the victim, who had also made a video on his phone as he left the scene.
The boy remains in custody ahead of sentencing for the stabbing of the victim's cousin.
His parents hugged each other as he was led away.
