A jury has convicted a man of attempting to kill his ex-partner and killing her new boyfriend in a stabbing rampage in northern Tasmania.
WARNING: This story contains details of a murder and family violence.
Kerry Lee Whiting, 47, had pleaded not guilty to the murder and attempted murder charges.
He was accused of entering the Ravenswood home of his ex-partner, Natalie Harris, and her new boyfriend, Adrian Mayne, in the early hours of November 25, 2021.
Prosecutors said Whiting went to the bedroom the couple were in with a kitchen knife and attacked them, stabbing Mr Mayne and Ms Harris numerous times.
The court heard two children were home at the time of the incident, both were the children of Whiting and Ms Harris.
The teenage son, who was 16 at the time, wrestled his father in an effort to stop the attack against his mother.
The 12-person jury unanimously convicted Whiting of both murder and attempted murder on Tuesday, after deliberating for two hours.
Defence argues case of misidentification
A key issue in the trial was the identity of the assailant.
Both Ms Harris and her son testified they clearly recognised Whiting, as they saw his face and heard his voice at close range.
The 18-year-old told the court he spoke with Whiting during the incident, saying he told his father he did not want him in his life.
He said Whiting replied: “It’s not like you message me anyway.”
However, Whiting’s defence lawyers argued he was not at the scene and was misidentified by his ex-partner and son as the attacker due to heightened emotions and “preconceived ideas”.
They pointed to the absence of forensic evidence linking the accused to the crime. Prosecutors described the DNA evidence as “neutral”.
“There’s no forensic evidence linking anyone to the crime,” prosecutor Daryl Coates said.
During the trial, police body camera footage from the night of the attack was played to the jury, which showed Ms Harris lying on the floor covered in blood.
When asked who attacked her, she responded: “Kerry Whiting.”
‘He said he was going to kill him’
The prosecution argued Whiting had a motive to try to kill Ms Harris and Mr Mayne as he was upset about their new relationship.
The court heard from Ms Harris that her relationship with Whiting was abusive and at times violent.
“Kerry told me if I cheated on him, he’d make sure that he’d get even with me and that person,” she said.
She said although Whiting seemed fine when she and the children moved out of their house, this later changed.
“He started coming all the time and staying until the kids were asleep and telling me why I needed to go back,” she said.
“I told him not to contact me or I’d call the police; he told me if I called the police he’d put me down.”
Whiting and Ms Harris’s daughter, 16, said her father was angry when he discovered her mother was in a new relationship.
“He was so mad, he said he was going to hurt Adrian,” she said.
“He said he was going to kill him.”
Whiting denied this, saying he was not aware of the relationship until after he was charged.
Whiting disappears after murder
Prosecutors pointed to Whiting’s conduct after the incident as evidence of his guilt.
Whiting left his home the night of the attack, which led to a week-long search by police.
Detective Senior Constable Benjamin Austin told the court police eventually found Whiting in a shed in his yard in Waverley, in Launceston’s eastern suburbs.
He said Whiting did not respond or exit the shed when asked.
Whiting testified he originally went camping in nearby bushland because he wanted to get away from the “problems of the world”, leaving in the middle of the night as he was crossing private land and he did not want to be seen.
He said he then camped out in the shed because he was worried someone was stealing cannabis plants from it.
On the first day of the trial, former Senior Constable Rodney Walker said when Whiting was taken to the police station, he was uncooperative and resisted a DNA swab being taken.
Whiting’s lawyers said he was uncooperative because he was unhappy with the manner of his arrest.
Whiting has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced at a later date. Victim impact statements will be read to the court on Wednesday.
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