08-05-2025
Nathan Morris acquitted in Cairns Supreme Court of murder of Rodney Frampton
A 22-year-old man has been found not guilty of murder or manslaughter despite stabbing his sister's boyfriend to death in far north Queensland.
Nathan Andrew Shane Morris pleaded not guilty to one count of murder after Rodney Frampton, 34, was stabbed five times in the chest with a steak knife during an argument in the Cairns suburb Caravonica on October 7, 2022.
The Supreme Court jury in Cairns delivered its verdict on Thursday afternoon after a seven-day trial.
During proceedings before Justice Jim Henry, the court heard that seven people occupied the three-bedroom home and tensions were high on the day of the incident.
The court heard Mr Morris feared Mr Frampton was about to hurt his mother when he took a steak knife and "randomly started stabbing" him in the chest.
The deceased's deepest wound was 15 centimetres, according to expert pathology witness Paul Botterill.
Mr Morris said he felt "scared and confused at the time" and "didn't think I would kill him", the court heard.
Defence barrister Tim Grau said his client had "terrible anxiety issues".
"Mr Morris is fearful or concerned for that [anticipated] assault on [his mother] and that's why he committed the acts he did," Mr Grau said.
However, crown prosecutor Liz Kelso said that the deceased posed no threat to Mr Morris's mother because she was in a different part of the house at the time.
Justice Jim Henry asked the jury, made up of six men and six women, to consider the long-term effects of domestic violence on the defendant.
"There can be a cumulative loading on the mind of someone exposed to domestic violence over time," he told the court.
The jury took just under 24 hours to reach its unanimous verdict after it was retired by Justice Henry.
Mr Morris has now been acquitted of charges and has walked free from the courthouse after spending two and a half years in custody.
