spend in prison for the death of David Bruce Riley.

A Supreme Court jury yesterday found Dill guilty of manslaughter.

But the four-man, eight-woman panel acquitted 34-year-old Dill of murder.

Chief Justice Austin Ward informed the jury, during his summation, that they had the option of convicting Dill on the less serious charge of manslaughter.

Manslaughter does not require a jury to find that the defendant intentionally, wilfully and deliberately killed the victim.

It took the jury a little over two hours to return their majority verdict.

Dill, of Angle Street, had denied murdering Mr. Riley on May 24 this year.

The 33-year-old Warwick man was found lying in the doorway of a friend's Angle Street, Pembroke apartment after Dill stabbed him in the stomach.

A series of witnesses testified that the two men had been fighting that day.

At one point Mr. Riley was seen wielding a knife, while Dill was seen brandishing a metal pipe, they said.

Archibald Warner, representing Dill, insisted that the stabbing was not unlawful since his client was acting in self defence.

And Dill told the court that Mr. Riley chased him with a stick, beat him and tried to strike him on the head.

But he also admitted that he "consciously'' armed himself with a knife in a bid to force Mr. Riley to "back off'' prior to the final confrontation.

Dill, the father of a seven-year-old daughter, was last released from prison on October 21 last year, after serving a three-month sentence for stealing and using threatening words.

Mr. Justice Ward will sentence Dill tomorrow.