A jury has found a man not guilty of murder, but guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter, nearly three years after the incident.
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Jurors on Friday reached the verdict in the Wagga Supreme Court, following the death of Lloyd Kennedy in Lavington on November 6, 2016 by Adam Azzi.
Azzi had contested two charges and claimed to have been the victim of a home invasion.
He had written to his daughter while in jail, claiming to have been targeted by the late man and his friend, Nathan Vercoe, while he sat inside a Webb Street home belonging to his ex-partner.
Azzi claimed that he had never had a knife, but the other men did.
The jurors rejected his version of events with their verdict.
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Mr Kennedy's family was disappointed with the result.
Azzi was painted as a liar by prosecutor Paul Kerr during his closing submissions.
Mr Kerr said Azzi had been prepared to lie to his own daughter about what occurred on the night.
But defence barrister Eric Wilson had raised the issue of self defence towards the end of the trial.
He said for the charge of murder to be proven, it had to be shown that Azzi deliberately struck Mr Kennedy.
The court had heard a visitor to the home before the incident thought Azzi was breathing heavily and was worked up.
The court heard he had gone out of the home armed with the knife and a table leg after speaking to Mr Kennedy and Mr Vercoe.
Mr Vercoe spoke of using a table top to shield himself from Azzi's knife blows, before seeing him and Mr Kennedy come together on the road.
He found his friend bleeding.
Passersby were unable to save him and he died in hospital.
