Acquittal shocks in stab case

A NORWEGIAN man has been acquitted of killing his exboyfriend, whom he stabbed six times, after a Brisbane jury found he acted in self-defence.

Thomas Lysgaard was on trial for murdering the “love of his life” Aaron Joseph Stewart during an argument about money and the division of property at their Spring Hill unit on April 4, 2015.

The Brisbane Supreme Court jury shocked family and supporters of the dead man when they found Lysgaard not guilty yesterday of both murder and manslaughter.

The verdicts prompted outrage and gasps of disbelief within the court room where many had sat throughout the trial.

“You gutless pricks,” one man said.

During three days of evidence the jury heard the 8cm blade of the kitchen knife Lysgaard wielded had pierced Mr Stewart’s heart and lungs, causing him to quickly bleed to death.

The 39-year-old, who was still living with Mr Stewart although they had broken up months earlier, said he had been “drunk and scared”.