Robert Fraley trial: ‘He had a purpose in mind … to kill’, court hears
ROBERT Fraley was an “ordinary … family man” before he allegedly delivered a life-altering blow to his wife’s head with a hammer and stabbed her with a knife, a court has heard.
A SYDNEY father who allegedly delivered a life-altering blow to his wife’s head with a hammer and repeatedly stabbed her with a knife was an “ordinary … family man” prior to the attack, a court has heard.
Robert Hilton Fraley is on trial in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court for the April 4, 2016 attack on his wife Robynne, which left her with severe head injuries including a fractured skull and permanent brain injury.
“I just struck out and I don’t know why,” Mr Fraley told the court. “I never intended to hurt her at all. I just remember I had a hammer … I didn’t realise at the time I had a knife too.”
Ms Fraley lay bloodied and motionless in the garage of her Cecil Hills home in Sydney’s west after the frenzied attack which also saw her stabbed in the head, chest, back, and hand.
Mr Fraley told the court he remembered looking at his wife, as she struggled to breathe on the ground, and thinking, “F**k, what have I done?” The mother-of-four — who survived the ordeal — suffers amnesia and doesn’t remember what happened.
Mr Fraley, now 56, was charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent to murder, and an alternative, lesser charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm with the intent of causing grievous bodily harm. He previously pleaded not guilty to both charges, claiming he didn’t intend to carry out the attack which almost killed Ms Fraley, now 56.
Judge Clive Jeffreys today told the jury that “intent” was a key issue to be considered during deliberations.
In his closing address, Crown Prosecutor Nick Borosh told the court that the accused had “had a purpose in mind and that was to kill”.
“The accused was acting with a clear intent in mind … using (the hammer) as a weapon to hit Mrs Fraley on the head. It’s not like a feather, not like a stick … it’s a weighty hammer,” Mr Borosh said.
“The Crown submits what the accused has done is deliberate. Ms Fraley had her hands palm side up. The blow that struck was (significant) to cause a fractured skull and brain damage.”
Defence barrister Harry Maarraoui yesterday told the jury that his client came before the court as a “person of good character”. He said Mr Fraley had not been violent towards his wife — or children — prior to the attack.
“Mr Fraley was under a depressive episode when the incident took place,” Mr Maarraoui said.
“(Up until that point) he was a family man who went to work like most people do.
“He had four daughters (and) was married to Ms Fraley for a number of years. He was essentially an ordinary person with his own characteristics.”
Mr Maarraoui said Mr Fraley had not planned the attack and urged the jury to take into account that his client was drinking scotch the night prior.
“There’s a possibility that Mr Fraley still had a blood alcohol reading … at the time this incident occurred,” he said.
“You’ve heard evidence he’s not the sort of person to be violent prior to the 4th of April.
“He told you he used the hammer. He told the police immediately after he did it.
“He’s clearly outlined that he struck her with a blow. He’s not able to remember how he caused those other injuries.”
‘I SUPPOSE I’LL BE GOING TO JAIL’
The jury was previously told that the couple’s 30-year marriage — beset by affairs on both sides — had crumbled, and Ms Fraley had left the family home to live with another man in the weeks leading up to the assault.
Mr Fraley told the court he was “emotional, depressed and pretty down” but not angry when he learned Ms Fraley was in a new relationship.
The court heard that Ms Fraley returned to the marital home to collect some belongings when the pair got into an argument over family and financial issues on April 4, 2016. Mr Fraley told the court he wasn’t expecting his wife to show up.
He said she yelled at him about unpaid bills and not answering her phone calls. Mr Fraley said he was “sitting there having a laugh inside thinking, ‘Now you know how it feels when someone doesn’t pick up your phone calls’.” But as their argument escalated, Mr Fraley said his laughter turned to tears, as he became “sick and tired of everything”.
“I just remember having a hammer (and) she put her hand up,” he said.
CCTV cameras from a neighbouring home captured the moment Ms Fraley got out of her car and walked out of frame, at 12.34pm.
Just five minutes later, Mr Fraley made the first of a series of phone calls to nearby Green Valley Police station: “I’ve just attacked my wife, I hit her on the head with a hammer,” he said.
Moments after making the call, CCTV footage showed Mr Fraley walk outside towards Ms Fraley’s car, and then back to the premises.
At 12.44pm, he made another call to police and asked if they had sent “someone out”. He told them he was “going for a drive” but would leave the garage door unlocked.
“I’m worried I’ve killed her,” Mr Fraley could be heard telling police in audio played for the jury. “I suppose I’ll be going to jail.”
In the third call, Mr Fraley told police he “went ballistic”, the court heard.
“I never thought I had it in me,’ he said in the audio.
“We’re having marriage problems. Is she dead? The kids will never forgive me.”
Ms Fraley didn’t testify at the trial. One of the pair’s daughters, Courtney Khannara, last month told the court she “had been advised not to tell” her mother about how she sustained her injuries.
All four of the Fraleys’ children testified at the trial. They each said their father had never been violent towards their mother prior to the attack but that he appeared angry and upset in the days leading up to it.
The court heard that Mr Fraley had attempted suicide after learning that his wife was moving out of their home. He was discharged from hospital on March 6 — just weeks before he picked up a hammer and brought it down over Ms Fraley’s head.
The trial continues.
— If you or someone you know needs help, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. If affected by domestic violence, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) or Domestic Violence Line on 1800 65 64 63. For help with depression, please see Beyond Blue.
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