A man acquitted of a "senseless" stabbing murder in Brisbane's inner north has been convicted of a downgraded charge which could see him released on parole after serving three and half years in jail.
Warning: This story contains an image of an Indigenous person who is now deceased.
Robert Charles Frescon, 33, was found dead inside his Kelvin Grove home after sustaining a wound to his neck in January 2019.
Three men, including Thomas Appleby, 25, were originally charged with his murder and faced a trial in Brisbane late last year.
A jury found Appleby not guilty of murder but were hung on the alternative charge of manslaughter.
One of his co-accused was acquitted while the other man, Damian Markovski, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in jail.
On Thursday, Appleby pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter, with the prosecution accepting he did not inflict the fatal wound but ought to have known Mr Frescon's death was a "probable consequence".
During a sentencing hearing, the Supreme Court heard the three men had gone to Mr Frescon's home to buy drugs "on credit" but Appleby orchestrated a plan to "use violence" and rob him if he did not comply.
The court heard Appleby went inside first and picked up two knives to threaten Mr Frescon, shortly after an altercation broke out between the two men.
While they were fighting, Markovski then entered the house wearing a mask and stabbed Mr Frescon in the neck, before both men fled the scene, the court heard.
'Your actions will always cause heartache'
The entire incident, including the moment Mr Frescon was killed, was captured on CCTV and played to the court.
Members of Mr Frescon's family cried while the video was shown, before his sister Tania Wilson read out an emotional victim impact statement.
Ms Wilson told the court her life changed the day she discovered her brother "laying in a pool of his own blood".
Ms Wilson directly addressed Appleby in the dock, calling him a "coward" and telling him his actions had caused her "broken family" to suffer "1,273 days of stolen opportunities".
"You not only took his life that day you took all of ours too," she said.
"Your actions, no matter how many times you say you're sorry, will always cause heartache."
The court heard at the time Appleby was a "terrible addict" and was diagnosed with ADHD, which caused him the "inability to self-regulate" and fuelled his drug habit.
Appleby 'haunted' by the death
Appleby's defence lawyer Angus Edwards told the court his client did not intend for Mr Frescon to be killed and his death had "truly affected" him.
"When he realised what happened he was horrified and shocked," he said.
"He's haunted by it."
Mr Edwards told the court his client was "not the principal offender" and had engaged in a "very high level of cooperation" with police and prosecutors from as early as his arrest and was "genuinely remorseful".
"He has always been prepared to plead guilty to manslaughter — always," he said.
Justice Lincoln Crowley described Appleby's offending as an "exceptionally serious example of unlawful killing".
"You are very much to blame," he said.
"It was your plan to use force and violence … Your moral culpability is high."
Justice Crowley told the court Appleby's "selfish" plan, had ultimately led to a "senseless death" and he had "robbed a family of a special person".
"They are the victims of your crime as well," he said.
Appleby was jailed for nine years, but Justice Crowley set his parole eligibility date from today after he had served just over a third of his sentence.
