HUDSON — An acquittal in a murder case boiled down to whether a 19-year-old was shot in the back or in the front of his neck.

On Wednesday, a jury decided that the man who fired the fatal shot, Mohammed Morshed, 28, was not guilty of murder but instead had acted in self-defense against Inderly Instinfil.

The jury saw that the shooting was lawful and justified, said Morshed’s attorney, Justin deArmas.

“This was a decisive victory,” he said. “This case sends the message that we can defend ourselves in our own homes.”

Columbia County District Attorney Paul Czajka said it was an unusual case and the self-defense element meant it had to be decided by a jury.

"As always, I respect the jury's verdict and I congratulate Justin deArmas for doing a very good job," he said.

The prosecution argued that on June 17, 2018, Morshed lured Instinfil into his home at 20 Fairview Ave. and then shot him in the back.

DeArmas said he was able to dismantle the argument the prosecution’s expert made and convince the jury that the bullet had entered Instinfil’s neck, meaning he was facing Morshed when he was shot.

The jury also voted to acquit Morshed of a lesser charge of manslaughter after the judge ruled that they could consider that charge rather than murder.

The confrontation that led to the shooting started earlier that day when Morshed, whose family owns the property, got into an argument with a tenant and others. At some point, Morshed pulled out a handgun. DeArmas said Morshed’s brother convinced him to come back inside the home.

Instinfil had armed himself with a tire iron and came inside the home, where Morshed fired a single shot. After the shooting, Instinfil took a taxi to Columbia Memorial Hospital, where he died of his injuries,

Morshed was arrested hours later at a Kingston motel.

Morshed was not charged with illegal weapons possession. Morshed testified that he had borrowed the gun earlier from a friend. DeArmas said he believed the prosecutors were unable to locate that friend and put together a case for that charge. Morshed was freed Wednesday after being in Columbia County jail since his arrest.