Kerry Whiting’s teenage son allegedly tried to stop him from killing his mother

The trial continued for accused murderer Kerry Lee Whiting as the jury heard how Mr Whiting’s son allegedly witnessed the brutal stabbing and tried to intervene. What the court heard.

Launceston Supreme Court.

The trial continued for Waverley man Kerry Lee Whiting as the jury heard how Mr Whiting’s son allegedly tried to stop him from killing his mother.

Mr Whiting, 36, pleaded not guilty to allegedly murdering Adrian Paul Mayne, 36, and attempting to kill Natalie Joyce Harris, 36, on the evening of November 25, 2021, while they slept in their bed.

On Wednesday, Mr Whiting again appeared in the Launceston Supreme Court to stand trial before Chief Justice Tamara Jago.

During the trial, Ms Harris’ and Mr Whiting’s then 16-year-old son gave evidence of how he confronted his father during the frenzied attack at their Ravenswood home.

The teenager said on the night of the attack, he woke to yelling and fighting coming from his mother’s bedroom.

“The first thing I noticed when I went in the room was there was blood all over the walls,” he said.

“Then I saw a man leaning over my stepdad and stabbing my mum in the neck.”

The teenage boy said that when he pushed the man off his mother, he realised it was his father, Mr Whiting.

“He looked me in the face, and I asked him, ‘Why are you doing this?’ and he would not answer me,” he said.

The court heard that the teenage boy allegedly grappled with his father before telling him, “I don’t want to ever see you again”. A harrowing copy of the son’s triple-0 call was played to the courtroom.

During the call, the teenager told the operator his stepfather was lying unconscious on the floor.

The operator asked the teenager, “Is he breathing?” to which the teenager responded, “No”. The operator then instructed the teenager to perform CPR on Mr Mayne.

The courtroom also heard the recorded police interview with the son, in which a Tasmania Police officer asked him about his relationship with his father.

“I knew he was violent,” he said.

“He was aggressive … He’d do things like walk fast at you to scare you.

“He threatened he was going to do something … he didn’t say what.”

The teenager said his father called him late at night before he started work in the week before the attack.

“He found out about Mum and Adrian. He kept asking questions, but I didn’t want to be in the middle of my parents’ fighting,” he said.

“He was overreacting … I was so scared I was shaking before work that day.”

Director of Public Prosecutions Daryl Coates SC asked the teenager who stabbed his mother and stepfather, and the teenager replied it was his “real dad, Kerry Lee Whiting”.

The trial will continue on Tuesday, June 11, with criminal defence lawyer Greg Richardson set to cross-examine the teenage boy.