Phillip Joe Jr. has been found not guilty of second-degree murder in the August 2009 stabbing death of his brother Conrad Joe.
The jury of six men and six women delivered their verdict Thursday morning after deliberating since Wednesday afternoon.
A jury does not need to give a reason for a decision, though Phillip's defence lawyers David and Jason Tarnow argued throughout the trial the Phillip was acting in self-defence when he stabbed Conrad.
Jason said the verdict was a tremendous relief for his client who has gone through the two of the most stressful weeks of his life.
"He's happy. He's tired. He's stressed out, but he's on top of the world right now," Jason said. "The case was so tragic and the Joe family has been through so much over the years, maybe [the jury] had some sympathy for him, but the evidence shows at the same time that Conrad was a very dangerous guy. He killed in the past. He could have easily killed Phil on the night in question or at the very least cause him serious bodily harm and Phil did what he had to do to stop it from happening."
Phillip was charged with second-degree murder after he stabbed his brother in a fight in their family home on August 29, last year. The two had been drinking with some friends when Phil and Conrad began arguing over Conrad using the phone to place an order for drugs. Conrad escalated the fight and began hitting Phillip. During the melee, Phillip grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed Conrad twice before the fight spilled outside. Conrad died of his injuries later that night.
During closing arguments on Tuesday, defence characterized Conrad as a violent drunk who was known to attack Phillip, his father Phillip Sr., and even perfect strangers "just because he wanted to beat on someone."
Tarnow's final witness, Staff Sgt. Bligh Woodworth, was a constable with Sunshine Coast RCMP in 1994 and was on duty the night Conrad attacked and killed retired doctor James Farish during a bungled robbery. Conrad was convicted of manslaughter and served 10 years in prison for the crime.
Phillip took the stand in his own defence on Monday and told the jury how he feared for his life when he began swinging the knife.
During his closing arguments, Crown counsel Trevor Cockfield attempted to persuade the jury that Conrad's past was not relevant to whether Phillip intended to kill Conrad.
"There's no question that Conrad was an angry, violent individual and you may be thinking 'maybe he deserved what he got,'" he said. "You must put that aside. We don't want to live in a society where people we don't like are killed with impunity."
