R v Close [2020] NSWSC 1026

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Close [2020] NSWSC 1026 Hearing dates: 13 – 23 July 2020 Decision date: 06 August 2020 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Button J Decision: Verdict of guilty of murder Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW – murder – trial by judge alone – plea of not guilty to murder but guilty of manslaughter – whether intention to kill or intention to inflict grievous bodily harm established beyond reasonable doubt – self-induced intoxication – expert evidence from three witnesses – consideration of large number of established circumstantial facts – rejection of alternative hypotheses – intention to inflict grievous bodily harm established to the criminal standard Category: Principal judgment Parties: Regina (Crown) Luke Jordan Close (Accused) Representation: Counsel: K Ratcliffe (Crown) M Austin (Accused)

Solicitors: Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown) Aboriginal Legal Service (Accused) File Number(s): 2018/62445

Judgment

Introduction 1. On 13 July 2020, Mr Luke Jordan Close (the accused) was arraigned on an indictment before me in the Supreme Court at Nowra. No jury panel was present, because an order that the trial proceed by judge alone was extant. 2. The indictment contained a single count, averring that, on or about 23 February 2018 at Nowra, the accused did murder Mr Garry James Welsh (the deceased). The accused entered a plea of not guilty to murder but guilty of manslaughter; when he did so, he was represented by solicitor and counsel. 3. The Crown did not accept that plea in full satisfaction of the indictment, with the result that a trial by judge alone on the count of murder proceeded until 23 July 2020. The accused remained represented as described above throughout the entirety of his trial. On that latter occasion, I retired to consider my verdict, having made it clear that other judicial commitments would mean that its delivery would be delayed for a time.