A jury yesterday found a Mossburn man not guilty of the manslaughter of a close friend he discovered had been having an affair with his wife.
Colin Bruce Taylor, 48, walked free from the High Court in Invercargill after the jury took less than an hour to reach
its verdict following a six-day trial
Taylor was charged with the manslaughter of Alistair Day, 42, after a scuffle between the pair outside the Mossburn Railway Hotel on February 2, last year.
Taylor had just discovered Mr Day was having an affair with his wife. Mr Day, 42, died after the incident.
Taylor had already pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of assault, the Southland Times reported.
Justice Christine French convicted and discharged Taylor on that charge, citing his previous clean slate and the stress endured during the past 12 months.
Defence counsel Bill Dawkins said in his closing statement the jury could not be sure beyond a reasonable doubt that Taylor's punch was the substantive cause of death because evidence from both pathologists and witnesses suggested a heart event could have happened just before the punch.
During the trial the jury heard that an autopsy revealed Mr Day's heart was 50 per cent larger than normal and he was suffering from severe atherosclerosis (narrowing of arteries), which meant he was at risk of a fatal heart event.
- NZPA
