A Sydney man who killed a Brazilian student he punched during a street brawl on the Gold Coast more than three years ago has been found guilty of his manslaughter.
Ricky Lefoe faced a three-day trial in Brisbane charged over the death of Ivan Susin in Surfers Paradise in October 2019.
After deliberating for less than two hours, a Supreme Court jury convicted him of manslaughter on Wednesday afternoon.
During the trial, the court heard Lefoe had struck the 29-year-old, who he did not know, in a fight which was initially between the two men's respective friends.
The blow caused Mr Susin to fall backwards and hit his head on the concrete.
He was treated at the scene and taken to the Gold Coast University Hospital, but died 11 days later.
The court heard the original altercation, between the other men, had been sparked over stolen hot chips.
CCTV footage, which was played to the court, showed the entire interaction between the two groups.
In the footage, two men can be seen sitting on a bench before another man approaches them and a fight breaks out on the busy footpath.
As the two men are on the floor, Mr Susin walks over and tries to throw a punch at Lefoe's friend, but misses.
Lefoe can then be seen hitting Mr Susin to the ground.
Giving evidence in his own defence, Lefoe told the court he had been trying to protect his friend and break up the fight.
His lawyer argued this made the punch lawful as it was thrown in self-defence of his friend.
However, the prosecution submitted Lefoe's motivation behind the blow was to ensure his friend could continue fighting with Mr Susin's friend.
Lefoe, who had been on bail during the trial, was remanded in custody ahead of a sentencing hearing to be held later this month.
