THE brother of a man stabbed to death in Parklea jail had to be removed from the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday after a jury found Belmont man Emmett Sheard was acting in self-defence during the frenzied knife fight. Mr Sheard was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter over the death of 33-year-old Michael Black, a jury left with no doubt he was defending himself after being attacked twice and slashed in the chin during a dispute over buprenorphine.
Mr Sheard walked free from the dock after more than two years behind bars awaiting trial. The verdicts triggered an outpouring of emotion in the public gallery where a man shouted "he stabbed my brother to death" and "this is a joke".
Justice Natalie Adams repeatedly asked the man not to make threats before ordering he be removed from the courtroom.
"I know you're upset but this is a court of law and you cannot make threats," she said.
Two other men, Matthew Bennis, who was granted bail during the trial and promptly absconded, and Luke Welford, were also acquitted of assisting Mr Sheard in the aftermath of the stabbing.
The trial focused on what led up to the fatal fight in a packed holding cell at Parklea Correctional Centre on the morning of April 22, 2020.
The prosecution case was that, after being bashed by Mr Black during a dispute over the opiate replacement drug buprenorphine, Mr Sheard was "angry and humiliated" and out for revenge when he stabbed Mr Black eight times.
But Mr Sheard gave evidence during the trial, claiming that about five minutes after the first fight Mr Black suddenly swung at him with a knife, hitting him in the chin.
Mr Sheard said he pulled out his own shiv and the pair "both started punching and stabbing at each other" for about 10 seconds before Mr Black said "all right, that's enough".
He said he armed himself because, after the first fight, he thought Mr Black was going to kill him and despite the body-worn video showing him screaming "I hope you die" at Mr Black he did not intend to kill him or want him dead.
And, after deliberating for a week, the jury agreed, finding Mr Sheard not guilty.
