(AP) — A Bellevue man has been acquitted of charges in connection with the fatal stabbing of his wife’s lover.

A jury returned the not guilty verdict Friday after deliberating for eight hours in the trial of 24-year-old Anthony Utterback. He faced a second-degree murder charge in the February death of 24-year-old Ryan O’Donnell.

The men had been fighting for months over O’Donnell’s relationship with Utterback’s wife. Following a physical altercation, defense attorneys said Utterback stabbed O’Donnell in self-defense.

O’Donnell later died from a wound to the chest.