A Wangaratta man has been found not guilty of murdering a teenager during a fight in a park.
Zachary Johnson was accused of murdering Jaxen Henderson-Gillespie after he fatally stabbed him in the neck with a knife at Scout Park in Wangaratta on August 21, 2021.
A jury in the Supreme Court of Victoria sitting at Wangaratta this afternoon found him not guilty of murder and not guilty of manslaughter.
Mr Johnson, now 20, and Mr Henderson-Gillespie were 18 at the time.
The court had heard that Mr Henderson-Gillespie died after sustaining a 12 centimetre stab wound to the neck, cutting a vital vein and artery, as well as causing other damage to the area.
Mr Johnson's defence team did not deny that he had stabbed Mr Henderson-Gillespie in the neck, saying their case balanced on self-defence and intent.
Defence barrister Daniel Sala said Mr Johnson had used the knife to protect himself.
"These are 18 year old men," he told the court early in the trial.
"This situation happened quickly.
"It was dynamic."
But Crown prosecutor, Mark Gibson KC, told the court Mr Johnson should be found guilty even if he had only intended to seriously hurt Mr Henderson-Gillespie.
"Murderous intent cover both states of mind — an intention to kill and an intention to cause really serious injury," Mr Gibson said.
'A knife to a fist fight'
The court had heard that Mr Henderson-Gillespie and his best friend, Brody Rouse, had met with Mr Johnson to provide him with MDMA pills on the afternoon of the stabbing.
There was then a conversation between Mr Rouse and Mr Johnson, who had had disagreements in the past.
Mr Henderson-Gillespie and Mr Johnson had only known of each other.
Mr Rouse had previously told the court that he said to Mr Johnson at the park that he no longer wanted anything to do with him and his "drama", before he walked away.
The court heard Mr Henderson-Gillespie then punched Mr Johnson in the head.
In his closing statement, Mr Gibson said the use of a knife was unnecessary and disproportionate to the risks facing Mr Johnson, especially as Mr Henderson-Gillespie and Mr Rouse did not have a weapon on them.
He said at worst, Mr Johnson risked sustaining a few bumps and bruises.
"Mr Johnson failed to punch, failed to push Mr Henderson-Gillespie, failed to retreat," Mr Gibson said.
"He chose to bring a knife to a fist fight at that moment."
Mr Gibson said Mr Johnson had his hand on the knife and produced it.
He said there was no need to do that.
"Certainly nothing had occurred which would have caused him to believe that he was at imminent threat of being killed or really seriously injured."
An 'accident'
The father of Mr Johnson's ex-girlfriend had told the court that Mr Johnson had told a number of people that the stabbing was an accident shortly after it happened.
Robert John James Massey-Chase had gone to Mr Johnson's sister's flat after receiving a call from his daughter following the stabbing.
He said his daughter was at the flat with Mr Johnson, along with Mr Johnson's sister and mother.
He said Mr Johnson had told them that "Brody and Jaxen apparently jumped him from behind".
Mr Massey-Chase then said he drove Mr Johnson to the Wangaratta police station where he was arrested.
During a cross-examination by Mr Sala, Mr Massey-Chase said Mr Johnson had told him that he had produced the knife to scare Mr Rouse and the victim away.
He said Mr Johnson had told them he didn't realise how close Mr Henderson-Gillespie was and cut his throat by accident.
