A 13-year-old boy jumped in to protect his mother after she had been stabbed by his father, a court heard yesterday.
Damien Shane Kuru is accused of stabbing his partner in the chest after finding out she had cheated on him. His trial began in the Whanganui District Court yesterday before Judge David Cameron and a jury of seven men and five women.
Crown prosecutor Harry Mallalieu told the court how Kuru and the complainant, his on-off partner of 17 years, Gayle Pereniko, were drinking at home on October 27 when the incident is alleged to have happened.
The couple's three children, aged 13, 12 and 10, were in the house, as were Ms Pereniko's sister and nephew.
Mr Mallalieu said Kuru and Ms Pereniko were in the dining room, with their 12-year-old daughter nearby, when Ms Pereniko told Kuru she had cheated on him.
Kuru is said to have grabbed a boning knife with a 15-centimetre blade and stabbed it into her chest, puncturing her left lung. Their 13-year-old son is said to have jumped in between the two to protect his mother.
Mr Mallalieu said Kuru refused to allow family members to call an ambulance.
Ms Pereniko spent two days in hospital after the incident.
Defence lawyer Stephen Ross said the defence position was that Ms Pereniko grabbed the knife herself after becoming angry when Kuru did not take her confession of infidelity seriously enough.
They were both intoxicated at the time, he said.
"She had the knife and he attempted to get the knife off her," Mr Ross said.
"They grappled over the knife and during the grappling she was stabbed. The stabbing was, in fact, an accident."
He said Kuru initially pleaded guilty to wounding with reckless disregard, because he did not want to put his children through having to give evidence.
Kuru was sentenced to home detention on April 14, but the Crown appealed the sentence due to an issue in the process. The sentence was quashed, and Kuru decided to vacate his guilty plea.
He has now pleaded not guilty to the wounding charge, as well as breaching a protection order.
He has breached the protection order against Ms Pereniko several times in the past, the court heard.
Kuru is also said to have admitted the offending to a probation officer before the first sentencing and accepting the blame, but Mr Ross said Kuru was lying at that point so the probation officer would write a positive pre-sentence report.
"There's no doubt in his relationship over 17 years he didn't treat Gayle Pereniko well. He was prosecuted and punished for that. However he will tell you that stabbing her . . . he's never done close to anything like that."
The trial continues today.