Emotional scenes in court as weeping student is found not guilty of murdering man he stabbed SIX times during bar brawl over a girl

Ian Scheuermann broke down in tears as he hugged his attorney Lisa Wayne after he was found not guilty in the death of fellow University of Colorado, Boulder student Sean Hudson

A 23-year-old man has been found not guilty in the fatal stabbing of a fellow University of Colorado, Boulder student during a bar brawl last December. 

Ian Scheuermann pleaded self-defense in the death of 26-year-old Sean Hudson, who he stabbed six times - including in the heart and neck. 

It only took the Boulder County jurors three hours of deliberation to acquit Scheuermann of second-degree murder, first-degree assault and one count of felony menacing on Friday. 

The jury also did not find Scheuermann guilty of reckless manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide, lesser charges that they were also permitted to consider.

The courtroom was an emotional scene as family members from both sides broke down in tears following the verdict. 

Scheuermann, pictured here hugging his parents, pleaded self-defense in the death of 26-year-old PhD student

Scheuermann could be seen hugging his parents and defense attorney Lisa Wayne as relatives and friends of Hudson left the room. 

'We are disappointed with the verdict and know how difficult this verdict is to bear for the family of Sean Hudson,' said Boulder County District Attorney Sean Garnett. 

One juror revealed that the 'crux of conversation' among the jury was the amount of force Scheuermann used when he stabbed Hudson. 

'We decided that, given the circumstances, even though in retrospect it was possibly excessive, there was no way we could definitely prove it was excessive at the time,' they told the Boulder Daily Camera. 

'We felt that if, at any point, the victim stopped, so would have Ian.' 

The brawl was set into motion a week before it began, when Scheuermann first met Hudson's friend Jeremy Zellers while playing pool at the Sundown Saloon.

When the pair realized they shared an ex-girlfriend, Scheuermann allegedly made an offensive sexual comment about her to Zellers, according to prosecutors.

Zellers later said he thought the pair had 'hugged it out' and that there were no bad feelings between them, he told the Loveland Reporter-Herald. 

But those feelings soon changed when he went back to the same bar a week later with Hudson and their friend Chris Loersch and saw Scheuermann once again.