Kevin Ronald Punter on trial in Maroochydore court for grievous bodily harm

GRAPHIC WARNING: A Sunshine Coast father-of-two and IT consultant is facing trial for allegedly attacking his daughter and her boyfriend during a wild birthday celebration.

A trial by jury has begun for a Cootharaba father-of-two charged with grievous bodily harm of his daughter and her boyfriend during a birthday celebration.

A birthday celebration for Kevin Ronald Punter’s 28-year-old daughter Annabelle Punter is alleged to have taken a violent twist on September 16, 2020.

Crown prosecutor Rebecca Marks told the court how everyone was drinking wine and beer at Mr Punter’s property and at some point during the night there were some words exchanged between Mr Punter, 62, and his daughter’s 43-year-old then boyfriend Troy Simeth-Hackling.

During evidence Mr Simeth-Hackling said he only remembered having dinner and the next thing he recalled he was bleeding from his stomach and everything was “squishy”.

“I was holding my stomach in ... I could feel my intestines in my jumper,” he said during his evidence.

Troy Simeth-Hackling was allegedly stabbed by Kevin Punter at his Cootharaba home in 2020.

He had no memory of what happened to him or how he became injured, but remembered knowing he had to get out of the house, the court heard.

At one stage Mr Simeth-Hackling remembered bleeding over a dog kennel and seeing Mr Punter standing somewhere nearby.

The court heard Mr Simeth-Hackling drove away from the property in his ute, but parked up on the side of Black Pinch Rd and slumped over the wheel which sounded the horn.

A neighbour – who happened to be an enrolled nurse – heard the horn and calls for help before coming to assist the injured man.

Troy Simeth-Hackling drove this ute a short distance after being allegedly stabbed before being helped by emergency services.

Ms Marks said the injuries suffered by Mr Simeth-Hackling included stab wounds to his abdomen, rib area and the back of his thigh.

“The injuries were consistent with having been stabbed, the injuries were life-threatening and he also lost a portion of his bowel,” Ms Marks said.

Ms Punter only remembered seeing her father and boyfriend getting along and talking about pool fences as well as her father sitting on the couch with a bottle of wine in his hand, the court heard during her evidence given on Tuesday, May 24.

She didn’t recall anything else until she woke up in the hospital.

Ms Marks said Mr Punter’s daughter suffered cuts to her face and scalp, fractures to various areas of her face and a stab wound to her back.

“Those injuries were consistent with the use of blunt force trauma against her and consistent with being stabbed in the back and those injuries were also life threatening,” she said.

Annabelle Punter was allegedly attacked by her father Kevin Punter at his home in Cootharaba.

The court was told Mr Punter’s wife was the one who made the triple-0 call for Mr Simeth-Hackling and told the operator he had been cut in his lower abdomen by a knife.

In the triple-0 call that was played to the jury Ms Punter could be heard yelling and screaming in the background.

“You can hear (Mr Punter) saying, ‘I grabbed a knife and (Mr Simeth-Hackling) is threatening me, I was scared, he attacked me’,” Ms Marks summarised.

The daughter could then be heard screaming, “he’s about to f--king die”, before her father Mr Punter said, “shut up you ... f--k you ... you’ve f--ked me up enough”.

Thumping noises were heard on the recording of the emergency call before Mr Punter’s wife said “my husband just stabbed my daughter as well”.

“Oh for f--ks sake, my husband, I think he’s killed her,” she said.

Kevin Ronald Punter is charged with two counts of grievous bodily harm.

Later in the call, Mr Punter’s wife clarified to the operator that she didn’t actually know what happened and confirmed in her evidence she didn’t see what happened to her daughter.

The court heard Mr Punter’s wife helped their daughter by applying a cloth to her face before an ambulance arrived after 1am on September 17, 2020.

Mr Punter’s wife also told the court at one point in the night she saw Mr Simeth-Hackling grab her husband by the neck, whisper something in his ear and throw him against the wall.

The trial is set to continue.