A man who stabbed another man in the heart in an "unnecessary and unjustified attack" in Gympie on Father's Day three years ago has been sentenced to life in prison for murder.
Alex Robert Smart, 29, pleaded not guilty to murdering Tylor Bell at the beginning of his Supreme Court trial in Brisbane last week.
His lawyers argued he had acted in self-defence when he stabbed the 31-year-old in the chest and leg with a flick-knife at an intersection on the Bruce Highway.
During a sentencing hearing on Thursday, the Supreme Court heard the attack was sparked by an earlier altercation between Smart and Mr Bell's father, Gregory Bell, at a nearby shopping centre.
The court was told the pair had a brief "violent episode". Shortly after, Mr Bell and his father left the car park and Smart followed them in his partner's car.
When Smart caught up to Mr Bell's ute, the two became involved in a heated exchange, before he stabbed Mr Bell through the driver's side open window, the court heard.
Mr Bell was treated for his injuries at a nearby hospital before being flown to Brisbane, where he died several days later.
After a five-day trial in Brisbane, it took a jury more than two days to come to a unanimous guilty verdict.
In victim impact statements read to the court, Mr Bell's parents described how much they missed their son, who they said had the "sweetest heart".
"He was my best friend," Teresa Bell wrote.
"I am broken, our family is broken."
Ms Bell said the "world has lost a good person".
"I am angry at how TJ was taken away from us as if he didn't matter — TJ's life mattered."
His father Gregory Bell witnessed his son's stabbing and said it had "wrecked" him and his family.
"My life has been shattered," he wrote.
"We are not the same people anymore. This has changed us."
Tylor Bell had four sons and a daughter, and his former partner said their father's death had destroyed them.
Your actions were unjustified
When handing down his sentence, Justice Peter Applegarth told Smart there was "no excuse" for his "deadly actions".
"Nothing Mr Bell said or did gave you the justification to jump out and stab him," he said.
"Your actions were unnecessary and unjustified."
Justice Applegarth told the court: "Aggression and knives are not the answer, they are the problem."
"It had deadly consequences; one man is dead, your life is ruined, five children are left without a father."
Smart has already spent 996 days in custody. He must serve 20 years before he is eligible for parole.
