Dee-Jay Feil jailed for at least three and a half years for manslaughter of mate Zachary Hyde after party

A HOBART man who fatally stabbed his best mate during a drunken brawl in Pontville last year has been jailed for seven years.

Dee-Jay Feil, centre, being escorted from the Supreme Court after being sentenced over the stabbing death of his mate following a street fight in Brighton last year.

A 20-YEAR-OLD Hobart man who fatally stabbed his best mate during a drunken brawl in Pontville last year has been jailed for seven years.

Dee-Jay Feil pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 20-year-old Zachary Hyde, after stabbing him once in the leg with a knife following a street fight on May 22.

MORE: DEE-JAY FEIL CHANGES PLEA TO GUILTY OVER MANSLAUGHTER

The Supreme Court heard the two men were part of a group drinking at a birthday party at the Crown Inn on the night of the incident.

After the group left the pub at around midnight, verbal disputes with the group turned physical, with Feil walking into a nearby residence to arm himself immediately before the attack.

SES workers searching for evidence at the scene of the stabbing incident. Pictures: SAM ROSEWARNE

A police officer at the scene.

Feil was initially charged with causing grievous bodily harm, but had his charges upgraded after Mr Hyde died in the Royal Hobart Hospital three days after he was admitted.

The late-night stabbing sparked a large-scale police hunt for evidence, with SES volunteers searching gardens, rooftops, bins and hedges along Brighton Rd for the discarded weapon while forensic officers collected evidence from the crime scene.

Justice Stephen Estcourt said he took into account Feil’s difficult upbringing and his guilty plea, but said the defendant had senselessly and criminally introduced a weapon into the fight with Mr Hyde.

Justice Estcourt ordered Feil to serve at least three and a half years before being eligible for parole, and backdated his sentence to when he was taken into custody on May 22 last year.