A SUPREME court jury has convicted Lily Ridgeway of manslaughter over the stabbing death of Jason Adams, who died on the street in Raymond Terrace about 5.20am on February 29, 2020.
The jury returned the guilty verdict on Tuesday, after being sent out to start deliberations on Friday.
Police arrested Ridgeway at a motel at North Haven two days after the body of Mr Adams was found in the middle of the intersection of Watt and Payton streets at Raymond Terrace.
In an interview with police, Ridgeway said she had armed herself with a knife to protect herself, claiming self defence during her trial before Justice Helen Wilson in the Newcastle Supreme Court.
In the lead up to the incident, Ridgeway had agreed to help her friend, Nikita Hanson, who wanted Mr Adams to leave the rental he'd been sharing with her. Ms Hanson and Mr Adams had been exchanging text messages all day, the jury heard.
"He was saying stuff like, "If I can't have you, no one can have you," Ms Ridgeway told police.
"He said, 'Get your crew ready, I've got my crew ready ... I'm gonna smash the house up" and Ms Hanson was scared, she said.
Shortly before the incident, Ms Ridgeway said she heard Mr Adams "schizzing out" on the front on the lawn, saying, "Come on you dogs, you wanna go on with it, let's go on."
She walked out the front and stood on the steps. He was calling her a slut, she said, and came up to her. Ms Ridgeway confirmed that she was holding a knife.
"I got it to protect myself. I didn't have any intentions of hurting him, unless he hurt me, to protect myself. It was just an accident."
But the prosecution's case was that neighbours did not hear any yelling or aggression from Mr Adams.
Forensic pathologist Allan Cala said it was theoretically possible that Adams walked onto the knife, in accordance with Ms Ridgeway's version of events, but it was not his preferred explanation.
"It's theoretically possible," he said. "But I favour that some forward thrusting would have had to occur."
The prosecution's case was that, while the final stabbing movement "may have been a short one", it was an intentional, deliberate, and willful motion to stab him in the lower left chest.
"What happened was that Ms Ridgeway deliberately thrust the knife into his chest out of anger and frustration," Crown prosecutor Brian Costello said.
"She fled the scene with the apparent knowledge she had done the stabbing, to dispose of items that connected her to the incident, and remained in hiding for several days.
"It was not an accident. It may not have been extensively planned or planned at all, and with hindsight she may have regretted her actions, but at the moment the wound was inflicted it was not by any accident."
Ms Hanson's evidence included that she heard Ridgeway say "Oh babe, you should have felt that" when she walked back into the house after the stabbing.
The jury was told that Ms Hanson has previously given evidence that Ms Ridgeway had said "Oh babe, you should have felt that, it felt so good."
Ms Hanson wanted Mr Adams to move out of her Payton Street rental because he had been telling people they were together and he was acting like "a psycho ex-boyfriend", she said.
The matter is back in court for sentence on April 8.
