KEY POINTS:
A Western Bay woman accused of deliberately stabbing her partner to death at Papamoa Village Park has been described as a "cornered rat" who was entitled to defend herself from the "bash".
"This little lady isn't a murderer. She'd had the bash all day and her partner's last words to her were that she was going to get it again," defence lawyer Paul Mabey QC told the jury in the High Court at Rotorua yesterday.
"She was scared and did what the law allows. Like a cornered rat by the fridge, a person is allowed to fight back."
Violet Mahari, 34, is on trial for murder after she stabbed her partner Phillip Te Kata, 49, with a 20cm long kitchen knife in cabin seven at the caravan park in the early hours of December 21. Mr Mabey said the prosecution had to prove that Mahari had murderous intent when she lashed out at Mr Te Kata with the knife and knew it might kill him.
"I submit that this is so far from being murder than it could ever be. The best the Crown can hope for is manslaughter but even that it is a huge stretch."
Mahari told police and other witnesses that she never intended to stab anyone and only wanted to scare her partner off, he said.
"She simply reacted on instinct when cornered near the fridge by Phil, after he'd shoulder barged his way into the cabin and quickly moved towards her, leaving her with no means of escape."
Mr Mabey told the jury its decision was whether this was justifiable manslaughter or that Mahari was not guilty of anything - and he said the evidence proved the later.
"Remember the law allows a person to use reasonable force to safeguard themselves from harm."
Mr Mabey urged the jury to also take into account the events leading up to the stabbing and the "human situation" she found herself in. Photographs taken by a police doctor showed Mahari had a litany of injuries after being punched and kicked by Mr Te Kata, he said.
Mahari's fear of being beaten again was real and she had twice taken out her anger by damaging her partner's truck, Mr Mabey said.
In her statement to Detective Geoff Whiteside, she told the officer that Mr Te Kata had threatened her by saying: "You ... wait bitch".
It was also revealed yesterday that an assault charge laid by Mahari against Mr Te Kata was dismissed when she failed to appear in court on December 20 - the day before the stabbing - to testify against him. Mahari was "too scared" to do so.
Mr Mabey said the testimony of Buster George and Joshua Noffke who witnessed the stabbing was also crucial to the case. They both gave evidence that they believed Mahari did not realise what she had done, and when she tried to administer first aid to "her man" they prevented her from doing so.
"That is not the reaction of a murderer," Mr Mabey said.
But Crown prosecutor Duncan McWilliam told the jury that any references to self-defence should be discounted and the real issue was one of proportionality. "It was a big knife and Phil was unarmed."
Mr McWilliam said when Mahari armed herself with a knife and plunged it into him, it wasn't an instinctive reaction - "shed made a conscious decision to do so".
Mr McWilliam said Mahari must have appreciated the risk of death, yet she carried on. He also urged the jury to note that Mahari had made contradictory statements to two police officers about her motives for arming herself.
The jury is due to retire to consider its verdict today.
- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES