Whyalla man Michael Knowles in ‘suicide attempt’ in head-on highway crash that killed two, court hears

A WHYALLA man was trying to commit suicide but instead murdered two young people when he ploughed his 4WD head-on into their vehicle, the Supreme Court has heard.

UPDATED CAPTION - The Nissan Patrol involved in a crash on Lincoln Highway at Middleback on December 29, 2014. Whyalla man Michael Frank Knowles, 36, was driving the patrol and has now been charged with two counts of murder over the crash. ** Double fatal overnight car accident on the Lincoln Highway, 22 kilometers south/west of Whyalla. One of the vehicles still at the scene, the occupants in this vehicle survived the accident. Picture: Stephen Laffer

A WHYALLA man was trying to commit suicide but instead murdered two young people when he ploughed his 4WD head-on into their vehicle, the Supreme Court has heard.

Michael Frank Knowles, 37, has admitted causing the deaths of James Moore and Natasha Turnbull in the smash near Whyalla in December 2014, but has pleaded not guilty to their murders.

Opening the trial in Port Augusta Supreme Court, prosecutor Mark Norman said Knowles was depressed about the breakdown of a relationship and had threatened to kill himself by driving into a truck in the hours before the fatal crash on the Lincoln Hwy.

Mr Norman said Knowles had told his ex-girlfriend, Teri Gelligan, that he planned to kill himself after she turned him away from her home hours before the crash.

“When she refused to let him stay the night, he stormed off, only to return a few minutes later, stating ‘I want one last hug before I go and do this’,” Mr Norman said.

Ms Gelligan, who had been subjected to Knowles’ repeated threats to take his own life, immediately contacted police — who were unable to track him down before he drove his Nissan Patrol onto the wrong side of the road and slammed head-on into the Pajero driven by Mr Moore.

James Moore, left, and Natasha Turnbull, right, both died in the fatal. They are picture with friends Amy Jones and Jason Bristow (centre).

Mr Moore, 24, and Ms Turnbull, also 24, died in the crash and two passengers sustained serious injuries.

Knowles was originally charged with manslaughter but prosecutors upgraded the charges to murder.

He had offered to plead guilty to the lesser charge of causing death by dangerous driving, but that offer was rejected by prosecutors.

Mr Norman said Knowles was drunk and had posted a number of Facebook statuses in the hours before the fatal crash — including one that simply stated “The pain ends now”.

Mr Norman said Knowles was “frustrated, angry and drunk”.

“He had threatened and indeed announced that he was going to kill himself, and he determined to do it exactly in the way that he told Ms Gelligan that he was going to do it,” he said.

Mr Norman said Knowles “must have known” his actions were likely to cause at least serious harm to the occupants of the other vehicle.

“Instead of choosing to drive into a tree or a rock or a brick wall, or even an empty parked car, he chose to drive straight into Mr Moore’s Pajero, no doubt expecting to die, “ Mr Norman said.

Knowles’ lawyer Phil Crowe said it was not in dispute that his client had caused the deaths of Mr Moore and Ms Turnbull.

“The main issue in this trial is whether Mr Knowles was attempting to commit suicide at the time of the collision,” Mr Crowe said.

The trial, before Justice Trish Kelly, continues.

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