Sex stabbing trial: Neighbours often heard arguing, fighting, asked by children to ‘break up’ parents’ rows

Neighbours of a woman who stabbed her husband with scissors during sex say they frequently heard “fighting” and “screaming” from the home and were asked by the couple’s children to “break up” their parent’s arguments.

The wife, who has interim name suppression, is on trial in the Rotorua District Court after denying charges of wounding her husband with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and breaching a protection order.

The names of the witnesses and the complainant are also suppressed, and some details of the case cannot be reported.

It is the Crown’s case the couple often fought over money and had been rekindling their relationship after separating when the defendant initiated sex about 5am.

Straddling him, when his eyes were closed and he was close to climaxing she stabbed him in the neck and abdomen with scissors, leaving him with life-threatening injuries, the Crown alleges.

The defence case is the woman stabbed her husband in self-defence as he was tightening a strap around her neck during sex.

On Tuesday, three of the couple’s children gave evidence, describing how they heard their parents’ raised voices early on the morning their father was stabbed.

‘Stick it to him one day’

A witness, who lived “less than 50 metres” from the family, said she would hear “arguing, fighting, banging” at the couple’s home.

“It sounded like a cat howling. It wasn’t very nice. There was a lot of screaming, a lot of yelling.”

The witness said this mainly came from the defendant.

The witness said the defendant told her “that she would stick it to him one day”, referring to the complainant.

“She said [she’d] end it,” the witness said.

Defence lawyer Tony Bamford asked the witness if she understood the defendant saying she would “end it” and would “stick it to him one day” to mean getting a divorce, which the witness confirmed.

Complaints about husband increased, says neighbour

One witness, who lived “almost opposite” the couple, said he and his wife had known them for years and they spoke often.

The neighbour told the jury the defendant was a “nice lady”.

“But progressively as we got to know her, we got to hear her complaining about [her husband] more often than not.”

The complaints were about how he would not look after the children or give her enough money.

The neighbour said they heard the pair’s arguments become “more regular and perhaps louder”.

“We quite clearly remember [the defendant’s] voice raised but seldom heard [the complainant’s] voice raised.”

He said the pair’s children started going to his house and asking him to go over and “break up” the arguments.

’Head of the house’

On the morning of the stabbing, the witness said two of the children came and told him their mother had stabbed their father.

He found the husband on the couch and stayed with him until emergency services arrived.

Under cross-examination, Bamford asked if he heard the husband “raise his voice”.

The witness said: “I can’t isolate an occasion but obviously he must have at some stage.”

Bamford said the witness was a member of the same religious group as the defendant. .

Bamford asked if he would accept the “culture” within the group was the male was the “head of the house”

The witness said: “I know it’s perceived this way but the husband is encouraged to do anything he can to please his wife and take care of her needs before his own.”

The witness said he learned the children and husband had found out the wife had been sending intimate photos of herself to other men at the same time he discovered the husband had obtained a protection order.

According to the Crown, a few weeks before the stabbing, the husband was granted a protection order against his wife requiring her to leave the family home if he requested. The protection order said she was not to engage in any family violence against her husband or children.

Father had ‘never run faster’

The court played a recorded interview with one of the defendant’s children.

In the interview, they said: “My mum stabbed my dad.”

They said it was about 4–4.30am when they woke up and heard arguing.

“Then I heard dad scream. And then mum just kept on saying, ‘You’re hurting me …’

“And then he said, ‘What are you doing? You’re killing me’.”

They said it sounded like “he pushed her away”. They saw their father run past their door and then heard him running up the stairs.

“He’s never run faster his whole entire life.”

They heard their father say: “Kids, get up. Call 111.”

Two siblings went to the house of neighbours, who called the police.

The parents had “lots of arguments” which had got “pretty loud”.

‘You’re hurting me’

The defendant’s child also appeared in court via audio-visual link.

Crown prosecutor Anna McConachy asked what the “tone” of their parents’ voices was on the night of the alleged stabbing.

Their father sounded “very scared and frightened” while their mother spoke “in a normal speaking tone”.

Under cross-examination, Bamford asked if the witness recalled their mum saying, “You’re hurting me” about five times. They said, yes.

They heard “chatter” between their parents for about a minute before their dad screamed.

They heard their mum say “I’ve done nothing wrong” after their dad screamed.

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.