Arabic version: إحالة متهم بقتل في أليس سبرينغز إلى محاكمة أمام المحكمة العليا

According to ABC News, Kaine Fisher, 23, has been committed to stand trial in the Northern Territory Supreme Court over the alleged stabbing murder of his cousin, the 27-year-old man referred to in court as Kumanjayi Gibson for cultural reasons. Fisher was refused bail and is due to face the Supreme Court on December 2.

The alleged incident occurred on Gregory Terrace in Alice Springs on May 15 last year. Judge John McBride told the Alice Springs Local Court that the cousins, both from Nyirripi, about 440 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs, had travelled to town with extended family and had been drinking at bars that afternoon. Gibson was not allowed into the final venue before the incident.

CCTV footage showed the group leaving about 5pm, before Gibson ran towards Fisher at the corner of Todd Street and Gregory Terrace. Judge McBride said Gibson could be seen carrying two steak knives, one in each hand. Other relatives became involved, including Poulson Fisher, who stood between the men, and Leroy Gibson, who intervened to wrestle the knives from Gibson.

The judge said footage showed Fisher applying force to Gibson’s chest twice in quick succession. Defence lawyer Beth Wild had argued there was evidence Gibson had a history of self-harm, including scarring on his chest, and cited a statement from his aunt. But Judge McBride said the available CCTV did not show Gibson making an observable movement with either knife consistent with self-harm before the injury.

Gibson received first aid from bystanders, including an off-duty doctor and nurse, before paramedics took him to Alice Springs Hospital. He died in palliative care less than two months later. An autopsy found a single stab wound had pierced his heart, with a doctor attributing the death to complications from that wound. Judge McBride said a jury would decide whether Fisher struck Gibson with an edged weapon or whether Gibson fatally self-harmed.