Police accept the decision of the jury not to convict Ewen Macdonald for the murder of Scott Guy in Feilding in 2010.
Detective Inspector Sue Schwalger who led the nine-month investigation, said: "The role of the Police is to gather all information available, assess it for its relevance to the case and present the best evidence to the court and then leave it to the jury to make a decision. We accept the decision of the jury.
"It has been a long and challenging two-year journey for everyone involved in both the investigation and the trial, especially the families and I wish to acknowledge their strength and courage displayed throughout."
"I want to thank the jury for their careful consideration of the facts and I want to thank the investigation team who worked tirelessly and professionally from the outset through to trial. It has been a challenging case and their dedication and resolve never waned.
"It is also important to acknowledge the overwhelming support that the local community and wider public gave to the investigation and to Mr Guy's family. In any serious crime investigation, regardless of the outcome, public information is invaluable."
"Throughout this inquiry Police have thoroughly investigated and assessed all information provided to them, should anything new come to light it will be investigated with the same vigour, however we are not currently pursuing anyone else or any other lines of enquiry."
The death of Scott Guy will now be referred to the Coroner and Police will be making no further comment.