Crown rejects man’s guilty plea to manslaughter at start of trial

A MAN’S guilty plea to manslaughter has been rejected by the Crown on the first day of his trial for the murder of his wife.

Police at the scene of a Kippa Ring home where Sandra Peniamina died in 2016. File picture

A MAN’S guilty plea to manslaughter has been rejected by the Crown on the first day of his trial for the murder of his wife.

Arona Peniamina, 38, is on trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court over the brutal March 2016 murder of his 29-year-old wife.

Sandra Peniamina died in the driveway of her Kippa-Ring home after being repeatedly stabbed and hit in the head with a fence bollard.

Arona Peniamina confessed to the killing by pleading guilty to manslaughter at the start of his trial today but this plea was not accepted by the Crown, who argue the man murdered his wife in deliberate and frenzied attack.

Police tape visible at the Kippa Ring home where Sandra peniamina died in 2016. Picture: Peter Wallis

The jury has heard Peniamina will raise the defence of provocation during the trial.

Crown prosecutor Dzenita Balic told the court the one-week trial was about “anger, jealousy, rage and murder”.

“She (Sandra Peniamina) died on the driveway of (her) house, covered in her own blood,” she said. “Most likely, killed with a bollard that was taken from the fence line, effectively.

“It was applied to the back of the head, most likely, more than once.

“Only minutes prior, you will hear that the ambulance had been called by the neighbours ... who heard her scream.

“A number of them will describe to you that what they were blood-curdling screams.”

The court heard Peniamina killed his wife because he was “preoccupied” by the idea she was having an extra-marital affair.

“There was this cloud of infidelity that existed, whether true or not, that was occupying his mind,” Ms Balic said.

The court heard Sandra Peniamina died after suffering 29 stab wounds to her head, face and body and trauma to her head.

Neighbour Michael White, 27, gave evidence his mother had called triple-0 after they heard “blood-curdling screams” coming from the house around 10.30am on the day of the killing.

Mr White told the jury he had tried to help Ms Peniamina as she lay dying on the driveway but was told by “a man” to “f--- off”.

“As he was moving back toward the front door, I took the opportunity to take a few steps (toward Sandra),” he said.

“(The man started coming) toward me again and he crouched down and picked something up, I thought it must have been something from the garden.

“He told me to ‘f--- off’, so at that time I ran back home because I didn’t have anything to defend myself.”

The trial continues.