Emerald’s Mark Kenafack pleads not guilty to grievous bodily harm

A Central Queensland father has shed tears in court after being found not guilty of grievous bodily harm.

Mark Kenafack with son Marley outside Emerald courthouse after the jury reached a not guilty verdict with regards to a charge of grievous bodily harm where Mr Kenafack had been accused of assaulting his former partner's uncle, Daniel Garner.

Tears streamed down the face of a man accused of assaulting his former partner’s uncle as the jury read out its verdict on Tuesday.

Mark Anthony Kenafack, 37, had been accused of causing grievous bodily harm to Daniel Garner, 40, during an altercation on April 2, 2021 over allegations of an affair.

Mr Kenafack had pleaded not guilty in Emerald District Court this week where a jury heard evidence from he, Mr Garner and an emergency department doctor.

After a day of evidence, the jury reached a verdict of not guilty within 35 minutes of deliberation on Tuesday morning.

Crown prosecutor Ryan Godfrey told the jury Mr Garner had just returned home from drinking with family when Mr Kenafack, 37, and his friend approached him out the front of his house, inviting him to join them in “Easter drinks”.

Mr Godfrey alleged that Mr Kenafack, as the trio walked to the third man’s house around the corner, allegedly “jumped in front of” Mr Garner accusing him of having an affair with Mr Kenafack’s former partner Jasmine, who was Mr Garner’s wife’s niece.

Mr Godfrey said it was alleged Mr Kenafack then assaulted Mr Garner, 40, who sustained a laceration to his head, with blood covering his face and arms, and the fractured ulna.

Daniel Garner.

However, Mr Kenafack said it was Mr Garner who was the aggressor.

Defence barrister Sheridan Shaw, during her closing address, said her client’s evidence was logical, detailed and candid.

She said Mr Garner had a reason to lie - money.

Mr Garner had told police the night of the incident that he did not want to make a complaint because it was a two-way fight.

Ms Shaw questioned Mr Garner about what police said to him two days after the incident about Victims of Crime Queensland funds and compensation through the court process if he made a complaint, which Mr Garner said didn’t happen.

The court was then shown body worn footage of the police visiting Mr Garner a few days after the incident.

Afterwards, Ms Shaw asked Mr Garner if he accepted that he was spoken to police two days after the incident and that they told him about the possible money options to which he replied “I don’t remember it” and that the recording had not refreshed his memory.

During her closing address, Ms Shaw said: “How could you not entertain a doubt about a witness who won’t accept a conversation he had?”

She also pointed out the version of events Mr Garner told the jury in this trial had a new element not mentioned in a previous trial or his statements - that he ran away - and that in the previous trial, he had told that jury he had “blanked out”.

Mr Kenafack, whose eyes welled with tears of relief as the verdict was read out, spoke with The Morning Bulletin outside court after he was discharged.

“I’m very happy,” he said.

“I just get to spend time with my son again. That’s what I have been really stressed about.”

‘Something funny going on’: Court hears odd messages led to street fight

A man accused of causing a fracture to his former partner’s uncle’s ulna claimed in court the uncle was drunk and was the aggressor.

Mark Anthony Kenafack, 37, told a jury in Emerald District Court that he had told the uncle, Daniel Garner, he had seen messages between he and Mr Kenafack’s former partner Jasmine.

Mr Kenafack has pleaded not guilty to one count of grievous bodily harm.

The court heard Jasmine is Mr Garner’s partner’s niece.

Mr Kenafack said he had broken up with Jasmine, whom he met in Mt Isa and was the mother of his now five-year-old son, about two weeks before the alleged assault in Emerald on April 2, 2021.

He told the court he found the messages after the breakup and the first person he told about them was a mate from work, who lived around the corner from Mr Garner.

Mr Kenafack said he had been drinking mid-strength beers throughout the day as his parents visited and then he went over to his mate’s place.

He told the court it was the mate’s idea to go and talk to Mr Garner about the messages that were about Jasmine and Mr Garner meeting at Mr Garner’s place while his partner was at work.

“They (the messages) made me think something funny was going on,” Mr Kenafack said.

“I wasn’t intending to do anything. We had already broken up.

“We (Mr Kenafack and Jasmine) were talking… we were friendly.”

Mr Kenafack told the court they waited at Mr Garner’s house for about five minutes, talking to Mr Garner’s daughter, before he arrived home.

He said as the three of them walked back towards his mate’s place, he told Mr Garner he had seen the messages.

Mr Kenafack claims Mr Garner said something about “f— Jasmine”, threw his glasses off to the grass and moved into a fighting stance.

He told the court Mr Garner and himself grabbed each other by the shirts before Mr Garner pinned his right hand to his body and tackled him to the ground.

Mr Kenafack said he was pinned down by Mr Garner and managed to roll out from underneath before Mr Garner “jumped” back on top of him and he pushed him away with his feet.

He said at some point in the scuffle, the men both stood up and punches flew.

Mr Kenafack told the court he thought he might have thrown three punches which all connected and Mr Garner punched him in the nose and on the top of his skull, leaving a lump on his head.

The court was only shown photographs of Mr Kenafack’s knees and hands, showing red graze marks.

He said his mother took those the following day to provide to his workplace as he could not move his knees and hands and therefore could not work.

Mr Kenafack said as he was walking away from the scuffle, he heard Mr Garner swear about his glasses and he turned around.

He said he saw Mr Garner reach down as if to pick something up from the gutter and then fall face down onto the gutter or road before standing back up again and falling down a second time.

Mr Kenafack said as Mr Garner fell, he threw his arm out to break his fall.

The trial continues.

‘Covered in blood’: Man on trial after fight over alleged affair

A Central Queensland father claims his ulna was fractured by the former partner of his niece when the man jumped in front of him and confronted him over allegations of an affair.

Photos of Daniel Garner’s injuries sustained on April 2, 2021, were shown to a jury tasked with deciding if Mark Anthony Kenafack, who has pleaded not guilty to one count of grievous bodily harm, caused the fracture to Mr Garner’s ulna.

Crown prosecutor Ryan Godfrey told the Emerald District Court Mr Garner had just returned home from drinking with family when Mr Kenafack, 37, and his friend approached him out the front of his house, inviting him to join them in “Easter drinks”.

Mr Godfrey told the court that Mr Kenafack, as the trio walked to the third man’s house around the corner, allegedly “jumped in front of” Mr Garner accusing him of having an affair with Mr Kenafack’s former partner Jasmine, who was Mr Garner’s wife’s niece.

Mr Godfrey said it was alleged Mr Kenafack then assaulted Mr Garner, 40, who sustained a laceration to his head, with blood covering his face and arms, and the fractured ulna.

Mr Garner told the jury he had only consumed three beers at his brother in laws prior to the incident however, under cross examination, defence barrister Sheridan Shaw put to Mr Garner he had told a previous jury during a trial in February 2023 that he had consumed six beers.

Mr Garner responded that he had taken a six pack to his brother in law’s house, but only consumed three.

Ms Shaw also put it to Mr Garner that after Mr Kenafack told him of messenger conversations between Jasmine and Mr Garner, it was Mr Garner who was the aggressor, saying “f--- Jasmine”, taking his glasses off and moving into an attack position.

Mr Garner disagreed with this version of events.

Ms Shaw also put it to Mr Garner that the ulna had been fractured, not in the course of the scuffle between the two men, but when Mr Garner fell face first into the gutter, twice, as he bent over to pick up his glasses.

Mr Garner disagreed with this, saying his glasses had been smashed by Mr Kenafack’s punches and his ulna was fractured as he put his arms up to block the punches.

“I went back to look for them (the glasses the following day) and couldn’t find them,” he told the jury.

The trial continues.