The jury in the trial of Shane Holmes, accused of murdering his old school mate Chad Hadden with a single punch at Newcastle in 2018, have retired to begin determining his fate.
Mr Holmes, 46, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but not guilty to murder and has faced a two-week trial in Newcastle Supreme Court focusing on his state of mind and whether or not he had the intention to cause Mr Hadden "really serious bodily injury" at the moment he threw the fatal blow.
The pair were drinking at the Queens Wharf Hotel on the afternoon of January 14, 2018, when they started arguing and had to be separated. They were both kicked out and sent in opposite directions, but came together again on the street where Mr Holmes says Mr Hadden threatened him and Mr Holmes punched him once, causing him to fall back and hit his head.
Mr Hadden died in hospital on June 27, 2018, with an autopsy revealing his cause of death was complications from blunt force head injuries.
Mr Holmes has maintained he did not intend to seriously injure Mr Hadden.
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