A Queensland man has been released on parole after prosecutors dropped a charge of murdering his ex-girlfriend's father during a street brawl.
Kynan Ignacio Vital, 22, of the Gold Coast suburb of Molendinar, faced Brisbane Supreme Court for sentencing on Friday on six charges relating to an incident on October, 19 in 2019 in which he assaulted and robbed his ex-girlfriend Julia Murphy.
Vital committed the offences after her father, David Murphy, was fatally wounded at Springfield Lakes, southwest of Brisbane.
On the night of October 18, 2019 Vital stayed the night at Julia's home and in the morning she told him their relationship was over and she was leaving to celebrate her father's 49th birthday.
Vital later refused to leave her home and Julia called her father, who went there with another man, which caused Vital to depart in his car in the company of a school friend.
Mr Murphy and his companion followed Vital in their own vehicle, leading to a roadside confrontation in which Vital's friend pointed a firearm at the pursuers' car.
Mr Murphy's companion started punching Vital through the car window and Vital kicked back.
Vital's friend struck Mr Murphy in the face with the firearm, breaking his front teeth and causing him to fall and hit his head on the gutter resulting in fatal blunt force trauma.
Vital meanwhile used a baseball bat to threaten Mr Murphy's companion and he left with his friend to return to Julia's home, where he punched her multiple times in the face and stole her mobile phone.
On Friday, Vital pleaded guilty to charges of assaults occasioning bodily harm while armed and in company, entering a dwelling with intent, and robbery with violence
Crown prosecutor Philip McCarthy then moved to discharge the other two charges, including one count of murder.
Mr McCarthy said the prosecution accepted that Vital did not strike Mr Murphy, did not know his school friend had a firearm and did not know Mr Murphy was fatally wounded when he left the scene.
Vital's friend is due to be sentenced at a later date after delays due to him suffering life-threatening injuries during a prison assault.
Mr McCarthy told the court that Vital's actions were about "exerting control over (Julia) to the point of controlling her communications".
Vital's barrister said his client was "genuinely remorseful" and had pleaded guilty at the first possible opportunity only to have his case significantly delayed by circumstances beyond his control.
"He was being a nuisance at the start of the night but not being violent. My client has remorse but he was the first victim of violence that night when he was punched in the head," the barrister said.
The barrister agreed with Justice Peter Callaghan who said Vital's assault of a woman in her own bedroom was unjustifiable.
Justice Callaghan said much of what Vital did on the day was "morally reprehensible and socially unacceptable".
"The death of Mr Murphy hangs over this proceedings but I can only sentence you for what you are criminally responsible for," Justice Callaghan said.
"The things that you did do were bad enough ... It is a record of extremely envious and deluded behaviours displayed by an obsessed 19-year-old."
Justice Callaghan said he accepted that Vital had matured significantly and sentenced him to three years imprisonment with parole to begin immediately as well as 180 hours of community service.
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