Tonight ` Ewen Macdonald has been found... ...not guilty of shooting him. The jury is back. What happened? It is not evidence. Sorry. Where does it leave the families? What's happened is so disgusting, especially to happen in NZ. We are obviously left wondering who is responsible for the death of our son. Due to the live nature of Close Up, captions for some items may be incomplete. ONE News captions by Hannah Reynolds and Angela Alice. Close Up captions by Desney Thorogood and Sam Bradford. Kylee Guy was heard as loudly as the jury in the High Court in Wellington today. A visceral reaction to the not guilty verdict, Scott Guy's widow screaming out, 'He killed my husband,' then rushing out of the court in tears. It was an emotional end to an emotional trial. We begin our coverage with criminal lawyer Catherine Clarkson, who's followed this case day by day. Was there a point during their trial when you thought that is what swung it for the defence? It was the boot. The defence had a whole different take on the what the prosecution was offering. When the different textures and waves were explained, a whole new dynamic into who could possibly have been wearing that boat. The size of the boat totally undermined the Crown case. One of the policewoman interviewed element Donald what size shoes he wore, and he said size 9. They took castings of the footprints that were on the scene. Did the police do as best as they could? Was anything left wanting in the prosecution? The size of the boat totally undermined the Crown case. The police would say they had all the resources they had. This was a thorough and professional investigation. We put all the evidence together, and we put the best available evidence before the jury. We accept the jury's decision. < Are you disappointed? This has been a long two-year investigation. Our role is to investigate. We have had a professional investigation. We have investigated everything that has been put before us. We accept the jury's decision. But you must be disappointed with this. Surely the police must be disappointed. > < Do you think you could've done more? Every piece of evidence and every piece of information that was delivered to the police, we investigated. So what happens now? Do you still try and find the person who killed Scott Guy? This has been a thorough and professional investigation. All evidence was placed before the jury. The jury made their decision. Police are currently not pursuing anyone else in relation to this investigation, nor are there any other avenues of inquiry. However, I'd like to make it clear, if new evidence does come to light, police will investigate it with the same vigour that they have throughout this inquiry. I think she has given an indication that there is no appeal in the pipeline. After reviewing all the notes from the court, they may have a different take on it. If they get new evidence or someone gave them something different, they may think again. But they cannot think again along the lines of Ewen Macdonald. These were close families in unimaginable situations. The son is dead, and his brother-in-law is accused of the murder. How were they reacting between each other in the court? The front rows were reserved for the families, and they sat on opposing sides. But there was no tension in that court room. There was an enormous amount of respect. There was one occasion on the day that Anna gave evidence and she came through a side door. I wanted to watch Ewen's reaction. She flashed a smile. He watched her in case he could get another one. It was that day that he broke down and cried. The Crown's case came down to this: Ewen Macdonald gunned down his brother-in-law Scott Guy because of jealousy and tension over the future of the family farming business. He was killed by a shotgun blast to his throat, followed by a second shot to his face, hands and arms. But from the outset, the defence claimed they had the wrong man in the dock. This was murder. What the defence says, however, is that it wasn't Ewen Kerry Macdonald who committed that heinous crime. This was a case different from the start. Family members called to give evidence ` not once, but making that journey to the witness box several times. Each time, though, it took an emotional toll. Bryan Guy, the first to speak, recalling being comforted by his friend at the scene of his son's murder. He gave me a hug and told me not to go to see Scotty, which is, of course, what I wanted ` go and give him a hug. Nikki Guy, Scott's sister, was the next family witness, telling the court how something Ewen Macdonald said moments after she arrived at the scene stuck in her mind. I remember thinking, 'How did Ewen know that Scott had been shot when he was down at the cordon?' That was crucial evidence for the Crown, which argued no one else had known that Scott Guy had been shot at that stage of the investigation, not even police. Day four of the trial was harrowing for the family. Scott Guy's widow, Kylee, recalling she was with her son when she saw a police officer arrive at her home. We stopped, and we just stood there, me and Hunter. And then he came down the driveway up to me, and I said, 'What's happened?' And Anna Macdonald, married to Ewen, but sister of Scott. She related their mother's grief. She kept saying, 'Not my baby, not Scotty.' < Carry on, what happened then? Um,... sorry. < Just take some` take some water. As the trial moved into its second week, it was the relationship between Scott Guy and Ewen Macdonald that came under close scrutiny. Scott Guy's mother broke down as she told the court Ewen Macdonald had accused her son of skiving off from working on the farm. This is bad for my heart. < Sure. Sorry. You wonder if you're going to survive these things. On day seven, the emotion wasn't confined to the witness box. We couldn't film him, but for the first time in the trial, Ewen Macdonald broke into loud sobs over this exchange between his lawyer and his wife. Mrs Macdonald, < on the 7th of July 2010, had your life ever been more perfect? No. < You were positive about the future? Yes. In a key piece of Crown evidence, the jury was shown a four-hour police interview conducted with the accused nine months after the murder. At first, Macdonald denied setting fire to an old property of Scott and Kylee Guy's. But when detectives revealed a friend of his had confessed that the pair had committed the arson as well as vandalising another property owned by the Guys, Ewen Macdonald admitted to the crimes. But he repeatedly denied killing Scott Guy. Attention then turned to a pair of diving boots. The Crown argued that whoever killed Scott Guy was wearing them at the time, based on an analysis of the distinctive footprints left at the scene. They said those prints matched a pair of size 9 boots owned by Ewen Macdonald. But in cross-examination, the defence disputed that evidence. Could that Pro Line boot that's been produced as an exhibit, size 9, have made an impression leaving 32 to 33 rows of waves in the forefoot area? No, it could not. The Crown called more than 60 individual witnesses before wrapping up its evidence; the defence just two. Neither of them was the accused, Ewen Macdonald. His lawyer, Greg King, told the court Macdonald's police interviews would act as his defence. After nearly four weeks of arguments,... The accused knew the cause of the death of Scott Guy before anyone else. He knew because he was the gunman. There is not simply reasonable doubt in this case, but there is an absolute abundance of doubt. ...the fate of the accused was left in the hands of the 11 jurors. Coming up ` we cross live to Feilding, where the Scott Guy family farm is to get reaction from the local community. This is a case that not only affected a tight-knit family, but a tight-knit community. It's a rural area. People know each other, look out for each other. So the murder of Scott Guy was an enormous shock. Compounding that, the news another of their community, the victim's brother-in-law, Ewen Macdonald, was charged with the crime. So how does the acquittal sit in Feilding? In the Manawatu district, Mayor Margaret Kouvelis joins me now. What has been the reaction to the verdict? Most of the community are rallying around again to lend support, compassion and love to both these families that have been extremely gruelling time. they are highly respected families, and the community is full of admiration for the way Bryan Guy has led the families through a harrowing experience. This has been going on for two years, and it will not end now. The way that we can help is the way that most people who know the families very well ` respect them and give them plenty of space to be able to deal with this in the privacy of their own home. That is the best way that we can show up hearing concern for them. There was a fear that it was a killer roaming around in your community. Is there still a worry in that community that a killer is on the loose.? We are very down-to-earth people, and we are very keen to keep any kind of hysteria away. We have a safe community here, and we are intent on keeping it that way. We appreciate your time. Just ahead ` families torn apart. A husband accused of murdering his wife's brother, a fight over an inheritance. The Shakespearean drama of the Scott Guy trial. GENTLE MUSIC For your everyday messes, try new Dettol Scrub 'n' Wipe. It's no ordinary wipe. Its two different sides make it both a wipe and a scrub. One side takes care of tough messes; the other, everyday cleaning. Dettol Scrub 'n' Wipe ` now one wipe cleans it all. Dettol and Plunket ` working together to promote family health. Every day of the trial there's been wall-to-wall media coverage, and TVNZ is no exception. ONE News reporter Simon Bradwell has, like Catherine Clarkson, been here every day. It's been a tough assignment given the restrictions on reporting. Some are still in place tonight. But with a reporter's eye, he's watched the comings and going, the reactions, again, some of which he hasn't been able to talk about before. Now, of course, he can. Simon. You said this was like a Shakespearean tragedy. It's not actually my phrase. But I've been talking to the people that have been queueing to get in. That is one of the phrases they said to me. It's also one of the phrases a lawyer has said to me. it's like there is a ruler over the estate. It's how he dealt with that and how the situation developed from that. The Crown alluded to it. Out here where we're standing after the verdict today, Bryan came out. We will play that for you now. This verdict does not bring Scott back. It does not restore a father to his son or a husband to his wife. It does not restore a son and brother to his family. Our lives have been altered forever. At times the pain of our broken hearts is almost too much to bear. However, through this tragedy we have learned a lot, mostly about ourselves ` what we stand for, our values and what's important to us. We have learned what is important is a father to his children. And although that father cannot be replaced, we know that with strong community and family support and values that there is hope for the future. He is a living example of the importance of a father to his children. Exactly. You really have to just take your hat off to them for their honesty, their fairness. They have been unfailingly polite and media. They have conducted themselves in such a courageous and admirable manner. You have seen the same faces everyday. People are taking annual leave to come down to watch the court case. Parents bringing kids down in the school holidays. There were some school groups coming down before the holiday started. I've never seen that sort of level of interest. The emotions that we saw on display have been attracting people to this case. You had Anna McDonald on the stand. Every heart in the court room went out for her. Everyone felt desperately sorry for Kylee Guy. Scott Guy broke down. He was genuinely upset. There is no doubt in my mind that his distress was absolutely genuine. She flashed a smile when he walked in. He sat there looking and waiting for the next one. He did not show much emotion, especially for the first 15 min when we were allowed to show home. We have Catherine, who has been watching as a lawyer. There are some things both of you have seen in common. It comes down to the evidence. There was not a lot of evidence. We do not see much come through. No doubt about it being a lack of evidence. There was no witness, no murder weapon, no DNA. That is a hard sell for the Crown. What about the puppies? Did they feature at all the case? They did, but they were a mystery. It is not a stuffy as people think it is down at the High Court. I've never seen anything like this case. The emotion really did remind people that there were lives at stake.