Love triangle led to bloodbath in the Adelaide Hills, court told, as tetraplegic man stands trial for attempted murder
A spurned partner allegedly lured his ex’s new lover into a shooting ambush — then the victim desperately fought back with an axe. Now a tetraplegic, the alleged aggressor is on trial in the Supreme Court.
A man who allegedly shot his ex-partner’s lover in the stomach — then was made a tetraplegic when the victim retaliated with an axe — is on trial for attempted murder in the Supreme Court.
The accused man, who cannot be identified, went to his ex-partner’s home at Littlehampton in the Adelaide Hills on October 29, 2017. The court heard he lured his victim into a garage on the property to show him his gun collection before opening fire with a rifle.
The court heard his victim was knocked to the ground but managed to retaliate, using a small hatchet to strike the accused in the back of the neck multiple times. These blows rendered the accused a tetraplegic.
Opening the trial on Monday, prosecutor Lucy Boord told the court the accused, 32, of Northfield, had suspected his ex-partner was “involved romantically” with the victim, who had been sharing a home with the accused and his ex-partner for some years.
In the garage, he took out a Winchester Model 70 bolt action repeater rifle and began to explain features of the gun to the victim.
“At one point the barrel was almost pointed at (the victim’s) head,” Ms Boord said.
The victim moved the barrel away, but the accused then lined up the victim’s stomach.
“(The victim) at that point realised something was very, very wrong,” she said.
“The accused had moved his hand behind the trigger guard and placed his finger on the trigger. (The victim) looked up and the accused was staring straight at him.
“(The victim) moved to push the barrel away from his body and the accused pulled the trigger. The rifle fired.”
Ms Boord said the victim was shot in the lower left abdomen and fell to his knees, initially thinking being shot was an accident.
“The accused offered him no help. Rather, he said words to the effect that this was no accident, that he intended to kill (the victim) and (the ex-partner),” she said.
Ms Boord said the victim “had to escape or fight back”, but his pelvis was shattered so he could only crawl.
She said the accused turned around to reload the rifle so the victim grabbed a hatchet and pushed himself up against a pile of boxes “so he would be tall enough to hit the accused over the head while he was turned around”.
“(The victim) struck the accused to the head with the hatchet and the two of them fell to the ground,” Ms Boord said.
“As he saw the accused move to get back up, he struck him in the head again and kept swinging.”
The ex-partner heard the gunshot, found the two men in the garage with “blood everywhere” and dialled triple-0.
Ms Boord said the accused was now wheelchair-bound because the victim had “fought for his life and in defence of his life”. A carer is supporting him in court.
The court heard the accused and his ex-partner had met in 2012 in South Australia, before moving to Canberra in 2014.
In Canberra, the ex-partner met the victim through work, and after she started a business he moved into the family home and began working for her.
The trio moved to Littlehampton in 2017, and the ex-partner later told the accused she wanted to end their relationship.
“The accused was not happy about the separation but eventually moved out of the family home towards the end of July 2017,” Ms Boord said.
In August 2017, the ex-partner and victim began a sexual relationship, which they did not believe the accused knew about. The accused’s belongings, including a collection of five guns in a safe, were kept in the garage.
The accused is charged with one count of attempted murder over the incident, as well as the alternative charge of causing serious harm with intent.
The trial, before a jury of six men and six women, is expected to continue for four weeks.