Defence challenges prosecution’s account of attack on gay man

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By Latrishka Thomas

An attempted murder trial continued in the High Court on Tuesday, with a defence attorney challenging the prosecution’s narrative that their client orchestrated a violent attack under the pretence of a sexual encounter.

The trial, presided over by Justice Tunde Bakre with a jury of four men and eight women, has heard conflicting accounts of the events that led to the violent confrontation.

Crown prosecutor Paulio Williams faces defence attorney Michael Archibald in what has become an intricate examination of intentions and circumstances.

The defendant is charged with attempted murder and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The incident stems from an online friendship that began in 2018 between the then 19-year-old defendant and a 29-year-old gay man.

According to the complainant, their relationship evolved with the accused requesting various gifts including football gloves and iPhone accessories, eventually leading to a $100 loan request for opening a bank account.

When the loan went unpaid, the accused offered sexual relations as repayment, and later requested an additional $120—a proposition the complainant said he declined.

On January 6, 2020, at Dove Trail Beach, what meant to be an intimate encounter turned violent. The prosecution contends that the complainant, following the accused’s instructions to undress, was suddenly attacked with a knife, sustaining multiple wounds to his throat, thigh, shoulder, back, elbow, and calf.

However, defence counsel Archibald presented an alternative narrative during cross-examination. He revealed that the complainant was aware that accused was only 17 when they began to speak and had sought to gain favour through promises of gifts and support.

While the complainant maintained his intentions were purely friendly, he acknowledged requesting and receiving intimate photographs.

The defence suggested a different version of the beach encounter, portraying the complainant as the aggressor who physically restrained the accused against the vehicle by his neck.

The lawyer seemed to suggest that the accused, who carried a knife due to previous attacks, acted in self-defence after his pleas to stop were ignored. “I cannot do this,” were the words Archibald said the accused repeated.

The complainant’s mother also gave evidence, describing arriving at the hospital to find her son’s blood-stained vehicle and medical staff attending to his neck wounds.

The father of the accused, a Reverend, testified that his son contacted both parents to collect him from the scene, where they found him with blood-stained clothing. He said they took him to Gray’s Farm Police Station.

Though his son remained silent about the incident at the time, the Reverend later identified the weapon as a kitchen knife from his own home—a fact he reaffirmed when presented with the same knife in court.

During cross-examination, the Reverend described his son’s physical appearance in 2020, describing him as slimmer and shorter than his current stature.

He also revealed an incident from his son’s past—a previous assault by multiple boys armed with knives, sticks, and scissors.

The prosecution then called an acting Sergeant of Police who served as a corporal at St John’s Police Station at the time of the incident. The officer detailed how events unfolded, beginning with an anonymous report.

Subsequently, the accused arrived with his parents and made a statement claiming self-defence against sexual assault.

The officer noted visible evidence of the altercation: blood-stained clothing on the accused, along with scratches and minor wounds to his hands and back.

Following standard procedure, they issued him a medical form and facilitated hospital treatment.

The investigation continued the following day when the accused accompanied officers back to the scene. He identified the specific location near the beach where the incident occurred.

The officer’s testimony highlighted their discovery of blood evidence in multiple locations and the recovery of a rose gold iPhone, which the accused identified as his property.

The device and pictures of the scene were kept as evidence while investigators conducted necessary interviews.

The trial will continue today.

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