A man who was robbed at gunpoint has been found guilty of rapper Mak Muon’s manslaughter but acquitted of murder.
Mr Muon, 22, and two associates had broken into Jayden Bowden’s western Sydney granny flat, aiming a handgun at his head, hours before the rapper’s body was found near an Emu Plains reserve.
Bowden, 25, Zackary Locke, 23, Jake Dillon 25, and Evan Taylor, 28, went on trial for murder in the NSW Supreme Court after being accused of tracking down Mr Muon for revenge.
On Thursday the jury found all four not guilty of murder, but Bowden was found guilty of manslaughter – an alternate charge for which prosecutors had previously rejected his guilty plea.
His co-accused were acquitted of manslaughter.
The trial was told that two Gucci bags, an iPhone and cash were stolen in the home invasion in September 2020 when Mr Muon and his associates were armed with the handgun and knives.
Bowden’s barrister Tony Evers told the jury that his client acted in self-defence.
“You’d have no doubt this is not a man who actually wanted to hurt someone – he just wanted his property back,” Mr Evers said.
Mr Evers said the 25-year-old had no time to think or consider his options and had merely reacted after Mr Muon grabbed his shirt in the park.
The rapper had been armed with a screwdriver at the time, he said.
In his evidence, Bowden described feeling angry and scared after Mr Muon and his colleagues entered his home, and pointed a gun at his head and his mother’s chest during the robbery.
Mr Muon was stabbed four times during the seconds-long fight.
There was no solid evidence that no accused other than Bowden was armed at the time that Mr Muon was stabbed, jurors heard.
The only witness claiming to have seen other weapons told the court she could not remember whether Locke, Dillon or Taylor were also armed and would only have been able to clearly see the fight for a few seconds, Mr Evers said.
A crown prosecutor said the four accused were armed with a screwdriver and knives.
Bail was refused for Bowden, who faces a sentence hearing on October 4.
