SULLIVAN, Ill. (WCIA) -- A Lovington man was on trial this week to face charges that he killed his neighbor during a dispute three years ago. When the jury returned from deliberations, they announced he had been found not guilty.

It's not the first time a jury failed to convict him in this case.

Matthew Nation, 54, was in court the past three days for trial on a total of seven counts -- four of first-degree murder, two of second-degree murder and one of involuntary manslaughter. He could not have been convicted on all counts -- the jury was to decide which crime the death of Michael Peck would be classified as.

Peck, 54, was stabbed to death on Sept. 26, 2022, during what the coroner described as a “neighborhood dispute.” Nation was originally charged with only first-degree murder.

The

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