Fate decided: Verdict for manslaughter trial revealed

A man on trial for manslaughter has received his verdict in court following a one-hour deliberation. DETAILS >>

A man who felled a tree which tragically killed a little boy seven years ago in bushland near Newfolk has been found guilty of manslaughter.

Joshua George Hector Clark, 39, pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of his ex-partner’s seven-year-old son, Akira Carroll, but a Supreme Court jury took just over one hour to return a guilty verdict on Friday following a five-day trial.

The jury found Clark was culpably negligent when he “chopped” the tree on August 22, 2015, at Mt Lloyd during a “wood-hooking” trip.

Clark, his ex-partner Sierra Lynd and her three children had all piled into his dual cab ute and headed to Mt Lloyd earlier that day to collect firewood.

As Clark told police in a recorded interview: “They love the bush, mate.”

But upon spotting a tree hanging over a road, Clark told police he parked in the middle of the road and climbed out with his chainsaw because he believed it posed a danger to the public.

The felling did not go to plan and Akira – who Clark “loved” as if he was his own son – was accidentally struck by the falling tree, which crushed Clark’s car.

The court heard the little boy was “barely hanging on to life” when paramedics arrived and died the next day in hospital.

The Supreme Court trial began on Monday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Richard Jupe

Cries filled the courtroom as the verdict was read out.

Clark, who has been supported by his family throughout the trial, hung his head and took a number of deep breaths from the dock.

The jury on Thursday was played Clark’s interview with police in which he repeatedly told them, as he wept, that he thought he was “doing the right thing” by felling the tree.

“I should have just left the f**king tree hanging,” he said.

“I’m so sorry. I wish I never tried to do the right thing.”

Clark told police he had been felling trees for more than a decade.

However, police quizzed him on why he would park so close to the tree while he cut it down, if he thought it posed a danger.

“You’ve told me you know how to do things, but you’ve done everything wrong,” one officer said.

In her closing address on Thursday, Crown prosecutor Heather Denton said Clark did not take several safety precautions a “reasonable person” would have taken when felling a tree.

She told the jury Clark disregarded “his own practices” that day, by not cutting a wedge and by not parking his ute 100m away from the tree as he usually would.

Joshua George Hector Clark (far left) is standing trial for manslaughter in the Supreme Court of Tasmania.

Without having cut a wedge, Ms Denton said Clark had “no control” over where the tree would fall.

“(It is) the total lack of control that forms the basis of his culpable negligence,” she said.

Ms Denton also argued Clark only felled the tree because he wanted it for firewood, not because he believed it was dangerous.

The prosecution started its sentencing submissions on Friday, telling the court Clark has no “relevant prior convictions”.

However, the prosecution said for Clark to not comply with his own standards that day “made his negligence worse”.

The court was also told that Akira was not the only child Clark has lost, with the father losing his own child – who suffered from cerebral palsy – in more recent years.

Clark has been remanded in custody and will return to court on September 30.

Man on trial for manslaughter ‘loved’ boy he has been accused of killing

A man on trial for manslaughter told police he “loved” the little boy he has been accused of unintentionally killing as if he was his own son.

Joshua George Hector Clark, 39, has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of his ex-partner’s son, Akira Carroll, by negligently felling a tree during a “wood-hooking” trip near New Norfolk on August 22, 2015.

Akira was struck by the falling tree, which came down on Mr Clark’s car.

The boy died the next day, from blunt force trauma head injuries.

A Supreme Court jury on Thursday was played Mr Clark’s recorded interview with police in which he told them he believed a tree hanging over a Mt Lloyd road posed a danger to the public.

“I thought it was dangerous for everyone,” Mr Clark said.

When asked if he thought the tree would harm anyone, he replied: “I didn’t want to take that risk.”

Mr Clark repeatedly told police, as he wept, that he thought he was “doing the right thing” by felling the tree but said he “wished he never f**king stopped to fix it”.

“I should have just left the f**king tree hanging,” he said.

“I’m so sorry. I wish I never tried to do the right thing.”

Mr Clark then told police that while he was not the biological father to Akira or his ex-partner’s two other children, he considered them to be his kids.

“I love them so much,” he said.

“They’re my kids, if you know what I mean.”

In her closing address to the Supreme Court jury on Thursday, Crown prosecutor Heather Denton said Mr Clark had been “culpably negligent” by not taking several safety precautions a “reasonable person” would have taken when felling a tree.

The jury was told Mr Clark had felled trees for years and knew to “cut a wedge” into the wood to maintain control over where the tree would fall.

“He knew of the requirement to cut that wedge in the tree,” Ms Denton said.

“And he did not do that.”

However, defence lawyer Kim Baumeler said Mr Clark was “safety conscious” and his actions that day should not amount to him being held criminally responsible for Akira’s death.

“He was not grossly negligent and he should be acquitted of the charge,” Ms Baumeler said.

But Ms Denton told the jury Mr Clark disregarded “his own practices” that day, by not cutting a wedge and by not parking his ute 100m away from the tree to be felled, like he usually would.

He instead parked the ute in the middle of the road, near to where the tree was hanging.

Without having cut a wedge, Ms Denton added that Mr Clark had “no control” over where the tree would fall.

“(It is) the total lack of control that forms the basis of his culpable negligence,” Ms Clark said.

“This is simply not a freak accident.”

A Supreme Court jury will begin deliberations on Friday.

Mother’s triple-0 call played to manslaughter jury

A paramedic has recounted the moment he arrived via rescue helicopter to a young boy who had been struck by a falling tree, who was “barely hanging on to life”.

Retired Ambulance Tasmania paramedic Peter Hampton gave evidence in the Supreme Court of Tasmania on Tuesday, during the manslaughter trial of Joshua George Hector Clark.

Mr Clark, 39, is accused of causing the manslaughter death of his ex-partner’s seven-year-old son, Akira Carroll, by negligently felling a tree on a “wood-hooking” trip near New Norfolk in August 2015.

Mr Hampton said it took the helicopter some time to find Akira and his family in the remote Forestry Tasmania-managed logging area at Mt Lloyd.

“It was a problem,” he told the court.

“It was devoid of any particular outstanding feature that we could track back into the maps.”

When they eventually got hold of GPS coordinates, the team landed near the family’s ute, and immediately began treating Akira.

“He was unconscious, he was barely hanging on to life,” Mr Hampton said.

“His condition was dire.

“He was barely breathing.”

Mr Hampton said he flew back to Hobart with Akira, his mother Sierra Lynd, and her two other children while a police officer waited back at the scene with Mr Clark.

He said he gave Akira adrenaline on the way to prevent him going into cardiac arrest.

Also on Tuesday, the jury was played more of the triple-0 calls made by Ms Lynd and Mr Clark.

“He’s in a sleep,” Ms Lynd can be heard telling the telephone operator.

“I’m really scared. I’m petrified of what’s going to happen.”

The court also heard police and emergency services took more than 90 minutes to find the family due to difficulty in pinpointing their “exact location”.

The family downloaded an app in order to find their GPS coordinates, the court heard.

On Monday, the trial adjourned in the middle of the recordings as Mr Clark began shaking and weeping from the docks.

He again wept on Tuesday as recordings of the emergency phone calls were played, in which Mr Clark could be heard shouting “thank you so much” in relief at the arrival of the rescue helicopter.

The trial, before Justice Stephen Estcourt, continues.

Heartbreaking details emerge as manslaughter trial begins

A manslaughter trial has begun in Hobart some seven years after a little boy was tragically killed by a falling tree in bushland near New Norfolk.

Joshua George Hector Clark, 39, has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of his ex-partner’s son, seven-year-old Akira Carroll, during an ill-fated “wood-hooking” trip at Mt Lloyd in 2015.

Akira died in the Royal Hobart Hospital on August 23, the following day, from blunt force trauma injuries to the head.

In her opening address to the Supreme Court jury on Monday, Crown prosecutor Heather Denton said Mr Clark had been culpably negligent when he fell the tree with his chainsaw, falling “far short” of what would be expected of a reasonable person in the circumstances.

But Mr Clark claims he only cut the tree down for safety reasons, because it was hanging dangerously over the road.

He claims he took the appropriate steps to fell the tree safely, telling police what occurred had been a “freak accident”.

Ms Denton said on the day in question, Mr Clark, his partner Sierra Lynd and her three children travelled to the bush to collect wood for a woman back in Hobart.

She said Mr Clark would usually fell dead trees or collect dead wood from log piles, but that day, he felled a green tree.

Mr Clark wept in the docks as Ms Denton said he’d yelled “get the f--k out of the car” as the tree fell towards his Mitsubishi Triton ute, in which the family was sitting.

Akira managed to get out of the car, but was struck on the head after he exited.

Ms Denton said Mr Clark ran up to the ute, to find Ms Lynd with “the little fella in her arms”.

She said both Mr Clark and Ms Lynd called for an ambulance, with a helicopter and paramedic taking “some time” to arrive as they needed to work out the family’s remote location.

Ms Lynd’s desperate calls to triple-0 were played before the jury, during which she could be heard saying “I need help” and “breathe Akira” while frantically receiving instructions on resuscitation and CPR from the telephone operator.

Giving evidence from a remote witness room on Monday, Ms Lynd wept as she said she tried to revive her son after he was struck.

“I heard the tree crash and I saw my Akira hit,” she said.

“I scooped him up and ran him to the back of the tray.”

She said she collected wood with Mr Clark “five to seven days a week”, and that he hadn’t said anything about the tree in question being dangerous.

She said he would sometimes fell trees when he couldn’t find any wood on the ground.

Ms Lynd said as she and her children got in a rescue helicopter, Mr Clark told her to “tell the cops it was a f---ing accident”.

The pair is no longer in a relationship.

The trial, before Justice Stephen Estcourt, is expected to run until Thursday.

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Originally published as Fate decided: Verdict for manslaughter trial revealed