Jessica Silva has her manslaughter conviction quashed

THERE were gasps from the public gallery as Jessica Silva’s manslaughter conviction over the stabbing death of her partner was quashed.

SYDNEY woman Jessica Silva has had her manslaughter conviction quashed over the stabbing death of her partner James Polkinghorne.

She stabbed Mr Polkinghorne to death after a violent confrontation at her parents’ home in 2012.

Silva was found guilty of manslaughter last year after a Supreme Court jury found her not guilty of murder. She then challenged the conviction on the grounds that she was acting in self defence when she stabbed Mr Polkinghorne.

She was given a two-year suspended sentence but launched an appeal against the conviction to clear her name.

The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal on Wednesday allowed the appeal by majority, quashing the manslaughter conviction and sentence imposed.

Silva stabbed Mr Polkinghorne in his back and face after he turned up to her parents’ house in Marrickville in a violent rage fuelled by the drug ice.

When her appeal was heard at the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal in June, Silva’s barrister Gregory Scragg said the Crown had not established beyond a reasonable doubt that Silva’s response was not a reasonable response in the circumstances.

Jessica Silva outside the Supreme Court after having her conviction quashed in the manslaughter of James Polkinghorne. Picture: John Appleyard

James Polkinghorne. Picture: Facebook

The scene of the stabbing on Livingstone Road, Marrickville in Sydney.

Police at the scene where male later James Polkinghorne was killed.

When the decision was handed down by Justice Lucy McCallum on Wednesday morning there were several large gasps from the public gallery and Ms Silva was hugged by family members.

The trial judge decided not to send Silva to jail, describing the case as exceptional with the killing “committed under extreme circumstances in the agony of the moment”.

Mr Polkinghorne had been abusive from an early point in their four-year relationship and by the afternoon of his death his verbal abuse had become more regular.

“I’m going to cave your f***ing head in,” he told her, adding an hour later, “I’m gonna break your f***ing jaw ‘cos you’re a dog.”

Mr Scragg told the Appeal Court judges Silva believed Mr Polkinghorne had previously shot and killed Nikolas Argiropoulos, whose body was found in a park in Birchgrove.

And she believed she was protecting herself and her family when she killed him.

“She was entitled to defend herself and what she did, in the circumstances, was entirely reasonable,” he said.

Ultimately, her action was not unlawful because she was acting in self-defence, he submitted.

Outside court her lawyer Adam Houda said there are no winners in this case, but the decision “means everything” for Ms Silva, reported AAP.

“She’s been emphatically cleared of any wrongdoing. (The) jury got it half right — they cleared her of murder but got the manslaughter verdict wrong,” Mr Houda said.

“Today’s decision sees that history corrected and preserves her legacy, which is extremely important for my client, for one day her son can read about her harrowing ordeal of brutality and she survived.”

Silva spoke to 60 Minutes last year about her relationship with Mr Polkinghorne and what led to the fatal incident.

Jessica Silva has had her conviction for manslaughter quashed.

Jessica Silva.

She was celebrating Mother’s Day with her son when Mr Polkinghorne, 28, turned up unannounced.

A brawl erupted on the street and she told 60 Minutes she went and got a knife.

“Just to scare him. I wasn’t thinking I was going to use it,” she said.

Silva said Mr Polkinghorne’s dark side would show when he didn’t have control and she recalled being choked against a wall during their relationship.

“Police came and asked me why I had red marks around my neck. I just said it was an allergic reaction,” she said.

“He (Mr Polkinghorne) said if I said anything to police it would cause some drama.”

Silva told 60 Minutes her former partner got more aggressive as time went on and he started belittling her, making her feel fat, ugly and like she wasn’t worth anything.

“Physically I’d be thrown across the room, held over the balcony, he’d pin me down, hold me down and just punch me ... kick me,” she said.

Silva, who is supported by family members, is at the appeal, which is continuing.

— with AAP.