Thomas Watkin faces sentence for Kingscliff stabbing in Lismore District Court

A 28-year-old man who stabbed a Kingscliff resident 19 times has told a court the event weighs on him as he asks for a fresh start in life.

Watkin will face over six years jail for the Kingscliff 2019 stabbing. Photo Cathy Adams / The Northern Star

A young man who has been jailed for stabbing a Kingscliff resident in an ice-fuelled unprovoked attack said his own unwillingness to accept the harsh reality of his schizophrenia led him to the crime.

Thomas Vincent Watkin, 28, faced sentencing for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm on Monday in Lismore District Court.

The court heard Watkin was only an acquaintance of 56-year-old Kingscliff man Anthony Norman when he launched into a serious stabbing attack in the man’s own Kingscliff St unit using a small hunting knife in July 14, 2019

Judge Warwick Hunt detailed how Watkin had arrived unexpectedly that night and spent several hours drinking and consuming ice with Mr Norman and a 24-year-old friend who was staying with Mr Norman.

When the night turned cold Mr Norman offered to provide warm clothing to Watkin.

However, his act of generosity soon turned out to be his ultimate downfall.

Mr Norman was in his bedroom getting track pants for Watkin when the then 26-year-old struck him in the head and then stabbed his head, chest, abdomen, and legs.

“The victim was bleeding heavily and crawled under his bed to seek refuge from the attack,” Judge Hunt said.

The 24-year-old friend who had left the unit for a short period of time returned to find Mr Norman in a pool of his own blood and struggling to breathe.

Paramedics raced Mr Norman to the Gold Coast hospital where he underwent surgery for 19 separate wounds.

According to medical reports, the tip of the hunting knife was found in Mr Norman’s skull and his lung had been lacerated.

Doctors said without surgery, Mr Norman could have experienced a cardiopulmonary collapse, resulting in death.

Watkin was then arrested on July 16.

Judge Hunt said agreed facts showed “no provocation” for the attack and that Watkin was on parole at the time.

“It is was committed at a time Mr Norman was offering hospitality to the offender,” Judge Hunt said.

He also spoke of Mr Norman’s victim impact statement which was “eloquent” as to the “life changing impact upon him”.

Defence barrister Jason Watts asked both Watkin and his partner Nikki Tyzzer to give evidence as to Watkin’s rehabilitation and mental health journey.

When asked what he’d say to Mr Norman now, Watkin said the stabbing was something that “weighs on me heavily”.

“I’d tell him that I’m truly sorry for the pain I’ve caused,” he said.

“I wrote to him with the intention to give him some sort of closure, if he could find it some sort of comfort that I don’t mean him any harm.

“He doesn't need to feel like he's unsafe anytime for no reason.”

Watkin said in custody he had illicitly been using buprenorphine but had not been deemed suitable for an opioid treatment program.

He said the drugs eased anxiety but was committed to seeking rehabilitation outside of jail.

He also gave frank admissions into his failed engagement with Narcotics Anonymous and difficulty remaining on antipsychotic treatment.

“As a young man I wasn’t willing to accept my diagnosis, I refused to believe there was something wrong with me,” he said.

“From an outsider perspective, I was always worried how they’d look at me, but now I’m at a point in my life where that doesn't matter.”

Watkin told the court he hoped to get employment as an electrician apprentice following release but was also interested in studying to become a drug and alcohol counsellor.

They were submissions that “impressed” Judge Hunt upon sentence, particularly Watkin’s acknowledgment of his psychological conditions.

“That idea that it’s a lifetime condition is a very sensible one,” he said.

“To recognise our genetic frailty is the best way for you to be the person you want to be.”

He also acknowledged the crown’s position that community supervision was needed to ensure Watkin kept to his rehabilitation promises.

He convicted Watkin and sentenced him to six years and four months jail, backdated to August 2, 2019.

He will be eligible for parole on February 1, 2023.

Judge Hunt also recommended the state parole authority give consideration that Watkin undertake residential drug rehab and transfer to Victoria to be supported by his family.