Twist in Sydney sword attack case as real estate agent asks for judge-alone trial

A Sydney real estate agent accused of attacking two women at his Annandale home has asked his case be heard by a judge rather than a jury.

A Sydney real estate agent accused of attacking a woman with a samurai sword has applied to have his trial heard by a judge only, because a jury would be hostile towards him, his lawyer has told a court.

Karl Adon Howard, 45, is set to face trial next month after he allegedly attacked two women in his Annandale home after taking valium, viagra, cocaine and alcohol in February 2021.

The former principal at Ray White Balmain has pleaded guilty to two charges - one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm to one woman and one count of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to a second woman.

In January he also pleaded not guilty to one count of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder and another count of intending to cause grievous bodily harm.

He is scheduled to face a seven-day trial next month.

Karl Howard will face trial next year. Picture: Supplied

Police have alleged Mr Howard punched a woman in the head before hitting her 29-year-old friend with a samurai sword as she attempted to intervene.

A court previously heard Mr Howard had allegedly mixed a cocktail of substances including valium, Viagra, cocaine and alcohol on the night of the incident.

Mr Howard was not present in court on Thursday as his barrister Michael Burke applied for him to face a judge-alone trial rather than have the case heard by a jury.

Mr Burke described the incident as a “horror story”, pointing to crime scene photos which were due to be tendered during the trial.

Karl Howard has pleaded not guilty to two charges and guilty to another two. Picture: Facebook.

He argued a jury would have a significant degree of sympathy for the complainants and a degree of hostility towards Mr Howard.

Mr Burke told the court the facts in the case largely weren’t in issue, however there was dispute about whether Mr Howard had the requisite intent to be found guilty of the offences to which he had pleaded not guilty.

“He’s the villain of this story, that’s not in dispute,” Mr Burke said.

The Crown prosecution opposed the application for a judge-alone trial with Judge Leonie Flannery to hand down her decision on the matter next week.

Mr Howard is expected to face trial starting November 15.