An accused killer has been found not guilty of murder after a judge found he had no case to answer.
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Bartolomeo Rapisarda was on trial in the Victorian Supreme Court, accused of shooting dead Dennis Pollock on September 16, 2017.
Prosecutors alleged Mr Rapisarda shot the 64-year-old in the back of the head because he had mounting debt and he was set to inherit Mr Pollock's $550,000 estate.
It was alleged Mr Rapisarda used a .22 calibre rifle to kill Mr Pollock at his Baxter property in Melbourne's southeast.
But Mr Rapisarda always maintained he was not a murderer, pleading not guilty to the charge and instead insisting his friend had killed himself.
Mr Rapisarda's lawyers submitted the evidence heard in the first two weeks of the trial showed their client should not have been charged in the first place.
Justice Jane Dixon agreed, ruling he had no case to answer.
She ordered that a verdict of not guilty be found on the murder charge.
Australian Associated Press
