Family of Rodney Frampton, 34, inconsolable after jury acquits Nathan Andrew Shane Morris, 22, of murder

A young man who admitted to police that he stabbed his sister’s boyfriend in their Far North Queensland house one night in 2022 has been cleared of murder and manslaughter by a jury.

Nathan Andrew Shane Morris, 22, walks from the Cairns watch house after being acquited of murder and manslaughter charges, after admitting in court to stabbing 34 year old Rodney Frampton. Picture: Brendan Radke

A young man who admitted to police that he stabbed his sister’s boyfriend in their Far North Queensland house one night in 2022 has been cleared of murder and manslaughter by a jury.

Nathan Andrew Shane Morris, 22, pleaded not guilty to one count of murder over the stabbing death in Melinga Close, Caravonica of Rodney Frampton, 34, who had been dating his 18-year-old sister, Hayley Morris.

Mr Morris’s lawyer fought back tears after the jury delivered its unanimous ‘not guilty’ verdicts following a day of deliberation, and seven days of evidence and witnesses.

The dead man’s family were inconsolable as they left the court and said they were too upset to speak.

The family of Rodney Frampton, who died of stab wounds in Melinga Close, Caravonica, in October 2022 were too upset to speak after Nathan Andrew Shane Morris, 22, was acquitted of Mr Frampton’s murder. Picture: Marnie Buchanan

Nathan Morris was released from the Cairns watch house around three hours after the verdict was delivered — his first moment of freedom after two years and seven months behind bars on remand.

During the trial, defence barrister Tim Grau told the court the stabbing happened in a “chaotic and crazy” house that was “wracked with serious domestic violence”.

Mr Grau urged the jury to consider whether Mr Morris was “aiding in self defence” at the time of the killing — acting in defence of his mother — or provoked by the “exceptional” circumstances of violence in the house.

But Crown Prosecutor Elizabeth Kelso said witness evidence described violence in the house as mainly being between Mr Morris’s mother and sister, not between Mr Morris and Mr Frampton.

Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Kelso leaves the Cairns Supreme Court after the acquittal of Nathan Andrew Anaheim Morris, 22, on a charge of murdering Rodney Frampton. Picture: Marnie Buchanan

Witnesses in the trial gave evidence of violence between Hayley and Mr Frampton, and also violence against the Morris siblings’ father, who “slept through” the events of the night of October 7, 2022, after a day of drinking.

During the trial, Mr Morris was variously described as a ‘quiet’ boy and someone who ‘kept to himself’.

The court was told during the trial had been about to join the army when he was arrested.

Defence barrister Tim Grau and solicitor Ken Cuthbertson leave the court after Nathan Andrew Shane Morris, 22, is acquitted of murder. Picture: Marnie Buchanan

The court was told Mr Frampton was stabbed with a kitchen knife five times and he “bled out” from puncture wounds to his heart and lungs.

Morris told police afterwards that he did it, saying he had been scared and anxious, the court was told during the trial.

The jury heard evidence that Nathan Morris’s sister, Hayley, had been hitting his mother with a broken broom handle just before the stabbing. Mr Morris then punched his sister, the court was told.

On the day of the killing, most of the seven adults in the house had been drinking alcohol but Morris, who was 19 at the time, was gaming in a bedroom with a child who also lived there, the court was told.

The jury of six men and six women deliberated for a day, pausing only to ask a question about aiding self defence, before returning the verdict.

Originally published as Family of Rodney Frampton, 34, inconsolable after jury acquits Nathan Andrew Shane Morris, 22, of murder