Man acquitted of murdering Gold Coast teen
A man has been acquitted of the murder of a Gold Coast 16-year-old boy during a botched drug deal.
Michael Brack died after he was stabbed in the neck at a Bundall shopping centre in November 2015.
Ryan John Howes, who was accused of murdering the youth, claimed during his Brisbane Supreme Court trial he'd been acting in self-defence.
Howes' legal team argued he heard "two clicks" of what he believed to be a gun when he tried to buy 14 grams of cannabis for $160.
Following a week of evidence from Michael's friends, investigators and people who found the teen, the jury on Tuesday accepted Howes was defending himself when he knifed Michael.
Central to the jury's considerations was whether a gun was drawn before the fatal stabbing.
It emerged during the trial that Michael's friend Reece Rowe, who was there during the incident, kept a replica pistol.
But the jury rejected his and his girlfriend's claims it wasn't present on the fateful night or pulled on Howes before the 16-year-old was stabbed.
The defence questioned several witnesses about whether they had arranged a drug deal or had in fact gone, armed with a gun, to rip off Howes.
During the trial, the jury was also shown texts between Michael and Mr Rowe where they appeared to celebrate acts of violence.
"Just sliced someone with a samurai sword bro," Michael wrote about a week before his death.
Members of Michael's family burst into tears as the not guilty verdict was read out, as others uttered "you're joking".
Howes was not released as the court was told he remained in custody on other matters.