A Sydney man has walked free after being found not guilty of murdering a 12-year-old girl in 1998.
Vinzent Tarantino denied his involvement in kidnapping and killing schoolgirl Quanne Diec more than two decades ago.
However, during the trial, the jury was told the 52-year-old had confessed to the crime no less than five times, according to 9News.
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He told police during an interview as well as a woman who claimed to be in a relationship with him at one point, another ex-girlfriend, a friend and his brother.
Tarantino eventually handed himself into police in 2016, admitting that he was in a rough financial situation.
"I was getting a lot of debt at the time, addiction, and I had this stupid idea just, you know, I could try and ring up and get some money for the person," he said.
"I did something to her like, I killed her. I took her life... I think I strangled her... just with my hands."
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Tarantino even took police to where he said he took her body.
But in a stunning flip in the case, the man claimed that his admissions to police where made under duress.
He added that the only reason he admitted to the crime was because he witnessed the murder of three Bandidos in the Black Market Cafe and was under pressure from members of the Rebels bikie club.
"I had to make a false confession so I could get to a safe place, I was in total physical and mental anguish," he said, according to 9News.
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His barrister Belinda Rigg SC told the court that since that incident in 1997, Tarantino has suffered delusions and hallucinations, something that was confirmed by two psychiatrists and a psychologist.
"He believed with his whole being there was a real and imminent risk of abduction, severe violence, torture and death of himself, his partner, his father and his brother," Belinda Rigg SC told the court.
The Supreme Court jury deliberated for more than a week after a seven-week trial and has delivered the not guilty verdict today.
Featured Image Credit: 9News