A 22-year-old Perth man who was due to stand trial in the Supreme Court this week accused of murdering his 70-year-old grandfather has pleaded guilty to the crime at the eleventh hour.
Ky Smith-Marciniak was arrested after Victor Marciniak was found dead in the front yard of his home on Okehampton Road in Warnbro on June 1, 2023.
The Supreme Court of WA.Credit: Erin Jonasson
At the time, police said the elderly victim received penetrating injuries to his neck, with Inspector Geoff DeSanges revealing a post-mortem and information supplied to the homicide squad prompted further investigation to the man’s death.
“Sadly, it’s another circumstance where people are known to each other, violence has erupted, and, we will allege, has caused the death of an individual,” DeSanges said at the time.
“The suspicious circumstances weren’t apparent on the initial attendance by first responders. However, the circumstances identified during the post-mortem have now prompted this charge.”
Smith-Marciniak, from Canning Vale, initially pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder and was due to stand trial.
However, at the start of his trial on Tuesday morning, Smith-Marciniak instead pleaded guilty.
He will be sentenced on September 5.
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