A man who successfully overturned a murder conviction for stabbing a German backpacker in Brisbane has been sentenced to eight years in jail after pleading guilty to a downgraded charge.
In 2019, a Supreme Court jury found Jamie Saxon, 37, guilty of murdering Dominik Schulze during a 2017 road rage incident in Milton, and he was jailed for life.
Saxon had pleaded not guilty at the Brisbane trial, arguing he was acting in self-defence when he stabbed the 30-year-old tourist multiple times with a 15-centimetre fishing knife.
The court previously heard a fight had broken out between the pair after Mr Schulze was clipped by the car being driven by Saxon's then-fiancee, while he was standing in the middle of the road.
It also heard Mr Schulze had been intoxicated and was the main aggressor during the initial confrontation.
Last year, the Court of Appeal quashed Saxon's murder conviction due to an error in a document given to the jury, and ordered a retrial.
Earlier this week, Saxon pleaded guilty to manslaughter, admitting he did not intend to kill Mr Schulze when he stabbed him.
During a sentencing hearing on Thursday, crown prosecutor Jodie Wooldridge told the court Saxon had initially tried to "calm down" Mr Schulze, but the fight escalated quickly.
"It is not the case that the defendant could not have removed himself from the situation," she said.
Saxon's lawyer Colin Reid told the court his client "accepts his guilt" and constantly reflected on the "stupidity of his actions".
"He also understands how many lives he's destroyed," he said.
"Not only has he taken the victim's life, he has taken the victim from his family."
The court heard Saxon had a "history of violence" and had previously been convicted for assault offences.
A victim impact statement from Mr Schulze's family, read to the court, described the moment they learned of his death.
"The ground was ripped right out from under our feet," the family said in the statement.
"We are still shaken to think about how unnecessary and pointless this crime was."
In handing down his sentence, Justice Thomas Bradley said he took into account Saxon's early guilty plea and remorse and told him "it reinforces my view you have taken personal responsibility".
"You understand the tragic implications for what you have done," Justice Bradley said.
Saxon was also declared a serious violent offender and will have to serve at least 80 per cent of his jail term.
