Leanne Carol Prak stands trial for murder, jury told she licked the bloody knife that killed a man
A WOMAN stabbed a man in the heart, licked the bloody knife as he fell, stabbed him seven more times then summoned help with an “SOS” text message ending with a policeman emoji, a court has heard.
A WOMAN stabbed a man in the heart, licked the bloody knife as he fell and then stabbed him seven more times in the back, a court has heard.
In the Supreme Court on Monday, Leanne Carol Prak admitted she killed Michael “Macca” McEvoy in May last year — but denied she was guilty of murder.
Prosecutor Chris Edge told a jury he did not accept that confession to manslaughter and would prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that Prak was a murderer.
“A key piece of evidence that we say proves she intended to kill Mr McEvoy is that she stabbed him first in the middle of the chest — in the heart, in fact,” he said.
“Then she did something you might think is fairly bizarre — she licked the blade of the bloody knife.
“After that, she stabbed him seven more times in the back after he had already collapsed, as he was essentially gasping for breath.
“DNA testing (of) the knife was consistent with Mr McEvoy’s blood and Prak’s saliva, from licking it.”
Prak, 42, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr McEvoy, 65, at his Holden Hill flat on May 3, 2016.
She pleaded guilty, in the presence of the jury, to the lesser charge of manslaughter but it was not accepted.
Opening the trial, Mr Edge said Mr McEvoy had welcomed Prak — known to friends as “Lenny” — to stay with him weeks earlier, each having been members of Adelaide’s “homeless scene”.
He said that, prior to the murder, Prak invited an ex-boyfriend with whom she had been drinking back to Mr McEvoy’s house.
That sparked a “yelling match” between the housemates, culminating in Prak stabbing Mr McEvoy with a kitchen knife in front of the ex-boyfriend.
“The ex-boyfriend will tell you Mr McEvoy’s reaction was to put his hand to his chest, revealing he was bleeding, and ask ‘why, Lenny?’ before he collapsed,” he said.
Mr Edge said the terrified ex locked himself in a bathroom while Prak sent text messages to friends reading “SOS he dead”, with an emoji of a police officer.
By the time police arrived, she had “packed up her handbag, a cask of wine and prescription medication” for “a getaway”, and resisted all efforts to arrest her.
Mr Edge said Prak’s blood alcohol reading at the time of the murder had been estimated at 0.37.
He said she gave police fake accounts of the incident, claiming her ex had committed the murder while wearing gloves and then passed her the knife.
“Prak was a seasoned drinker, an alcoholic, someone who could drink a lot and could handle it well,” he said.
“Her tolerance of the effects of large quantities of alcohol is likely to be an important issue in this trial.”
The trial, before Justice David Peek, continues.