IT was a bitter and ongoing rivalry, fuelled by animosity about the overlap of a relationship and confusion over who was the father of a young child.
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And it ended with one man dead, one in jail and two young children being raised without a father.
Kevin George Smith, now 39, was on Tuesday jailed for a maximum of 20 years for the murder of Daniel Pettersson, 34, who was stabbed once in the chest during a struggle in the kitchen of a home in Michael Street, Jesmond on January 6, 2022.
Justice Sarah McNaughton, SC, ordered Smith serve at least 15 years behind bars before being eligible for parole in 2037.
Smith, known as "Squids", was in September found guilty of murdering Mr Pettersson, a talented carpenter, after a jury rejected his self-defence claims and found what he had done in stabbing an unarmed man was not necessary or reasonable in the circumstances.
The two men had been in a relationship with the same woman and had made threats back and forth from about May, 2021 when Smith's paternity of her child was called into question.
Mr Pettersson had told the woman that if he ever found Smith at her house then "it was on", while Smith had made threats of his own, including threatening to kill Mr Pettersson.
And so on that afternoon in January, 2022, when Mr Pettersson discovered Smith at the house at Jesmond those threats became a reality and their bitter feud reached a chaotic conclusion.
After a day spent desperately trying to contact the woman in the hopes of seeing his son, Mr Pettersson pulled up outside the house in Michael Street. It was 3.19pm.
By 3.39pm he had been stabbed in the chest and was fighting for his life.
There was no dispute that it was Smith who stabbed him.
But he pleaded not guilty to murder on the basis of self-defence, claiming he had been forced to defend himself after Mr Pettersson burst into the home and the pair wrestled over a hunting knife in the kitchen.
And so in the context of what was a months-long feud, Smith's brief murder trial focused on just those crucial few minutes between when Mr Pettersson arrived at the house and when he collapsed outside.
Justice McNaughton said on the day he died Mr Pettersson had been "agitated and aggressive" during a conversation with the woman's father.
"His emotions were heightened because he wanted to see his child whenever he wanted to and not just in accordance with the court orders," Justice McNaughton said.
Justice McNaughton said Mr Pettersson came to the house that day "looking for a fight" and had forced his way inside and spotted Smith before calling him outside.
She said Smith armed himself with a hunting knife and was "brandishing it in an aggressive fashion" while the woman was standing between the pair holding her child.
Smith was told to put the knife away, but as soon as he did Mr Pettersson pushed through the door and lunged at him.
The woman gave evidence that she handed her baby over to another witness and then went into the kitchen where she saw the two men wrestling over the knife.
The woman's dog was attacking the two men and, worried it would be injured, she pulled the dog into a bedroom and then heard Mr Pettersson call out.
She turned to see he had been stabbed and had blood gushing out of his shoulder.
Mr Pettersson collapsed outside and died while Smith fled the scene.
Justice McNaughton said she was not satisfied that Smith had intended to kill Mr Pettersson despite the stabbing occurring in the context of an ongoing animosity between the pair.
She took into account the fact that Smith had been provoked and had stabbed Mr Pettersson after he had aggressively forced his way into his home.
Justice McNaughton said there was no evidence that Smith was remorseful and outlined the impact on Mr Pettersson's family, particularly his two young sons.
"The offender's violent actions have catastrophically impacted both children's lives in unimaginable ways both now and into the future," Justice McNaughton said.
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