Karratha man Manish Kumar found not guilty of attempted murder of housemate following meat cleaver ‘attack’

A Karratha man accused of trying to kill his housemate with a meat cleaver which allegedly cut his victim’s arm to the bone has been found not guilty after the jury deliberated for about half an hour. The three-day attempted murder trial of Bulgarra resident Manish Kumar,35, began in Karratha Supreme Court on Monday, where it was alleged he attacked his housemate, Dale Jenkins, with a meat cleaver at about 6.10am on February 19, 2019 causing a deep arm laceration that went to the bone. The injury severed tendons, nerves and muscle tissue in the victim’s arm and led to him losing movement in several fingers. Following a half hour deliberation, the jury found Mr Kumar not guilty of attempted murder and not guilty of the lesser charges of grievous bodily harm with intent and grievous bodily harm. Mr Kumar burst into tears when the jury delivered its verdict at about 3.20pm. “Thank you, thank you for justice,” he said. Mr Kumar told the court yesterday the incident began when Mr Jenkins confronted him as he returned to the house after dropping his wife off at work. He said Mr Jenkins yelled at him as soon as he walked through the door saying “you are a f...... arrogant Indian c...”. Mr Kumar said the argument continued and escalated to pushing and shoving before Mr Jenkins grabbed him in a choke hold. “When I broke free I flicked a chair at him, I was scared for my life and ran into kitchen and grabbed the knife,” he said. Mr Kumar’s lawyer John Hawkins said in his closing statement Mr Kumar was not the aggressor and had never been in a fight before. He said Mr Kumar grabbed the knife to defend himself. “He was protecting himself from further assaults that man was trying to perpetrate for the previous 10 minutes,” he said. He said after Mr Kumar then went to police after Mr Jenkins left the house. “He goes to the Police Station and reports and assault on himself, consistent with innocence and consistent with Mr Kumar who never wanted any trouble,” he said. In his closing statement State Prosecutor Prosecutor Benjamin Stanwix said the incident was the result of a build up of tensions that led Mr Kumar to snap and “see red.” Mr Stanwix said the accused and the victim both gave two varied versions of the events that unfolded that morning.