ROCHESTER, NY — A college student from New York City was acquitted of murder yesterday in the fatal stabbing of a drunken classmate who was pummeling him on a couch during a dispute over a girlfriend at a fraternity party.

After a nonjury trial, Monroe County Judge John DeMarco ruled that Daren Venable acted in self-defense because he made every effort to get away from Jeffrey Bordeaux Jr. and was justified in believing he might be killed.

When the verdict was delivered, some of the victim’s relatives shouted in anger and charged from the court.