Laa Chol murder accused admits stabbing her as trial starts
A teen accused of murdering Laa Chol has admitted to fatally stabbing her in the hallway of a Melbourne apartment after a fight broke out. But denies he intended to kill her.
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A teen on trial for the murder of Laa Chol has admitted fatally stabbing her at a party in Melbourne’s CBD but says he never intended to kill her.
As the Supreme Court trial opened on Monday, the accused, who cannot be named because he was 17 at the time of Ms Chol’s death, pleaded not guilty to murder.
But he pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and his barrister Sam Norton asked the 12-person jury to convict him on that alternative charge.
“(My client) is innocent of the crime of murder,” Mr Norton told the jury.
“He admits that he caused the death of Laa Chol. He admits that he stabbed her.
“This has happened swiftly. It’s something that’s over in a second.
“When you examine the footage … it’s not murder.”
Mr Norton said his client did not have murderous intent.
“The single issue in this trial is whether the prosecution can prove (my client) intended to kill or cause really serious injury,” Mr Norton said.
Prosecutor Kristie Churchill said the boy’s guilty plea to manslaughter was “insufficient”.
“The ultimate question here to decide is, is the accused guilty of murder?” Ms Churchill said.
“We say he is guilty of murder.”
In her opening address to the jury, Ms Churchill played CCTV footage, pointing out the moment of the “fatal blow” in the hallway of the A’Beckett St apartment complex in the early hours of July 21 last year.
She said Ms Chol, 19, had rented an AirBnb with some girlfriends and did not like it when the accused arrived unannounced with some other male friends about 4.15am.
A friend of Ms Chol’s later noticed one of the gatecrashers rummaging through the drawers, and when Ms Chol could not find her phone, she said: “No-one is leaving here until I get my phone back.”
She confronted the accused and another male as they tried to leave.
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The footage showed Ms Chol in a fight with the other male, before the accused ran in and stabbed her. She staggered back to the apartment, her friends believing she was having an asthma attack, Ms Churchill said.
By the time emergency services arrived, Ms Chol was dead.
Ms Churchill said an autopsy found a single stab wound, 3cm long and 8.5cm deep, penetrated Ms Chol’s heart, causing her death.
Justice Stephen Kaye directed the jury if they were not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the accused intended to kill or cause real serious injury to Ms Chol, then they would need to consider the alternative charge of manslaughter.
The trial continues.