Arabic version: إدانة كونراد لاردنر بالقتل غير العمد

According to ABC News, Conrad Lardner has been found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter over the 2023 stabbing death of his cousin, David Vale, on the New South Wales Mid North Coast.

Lardner, 51, was arrested on May 17, 2023, and charged with murdering Mr Vale, 39. Mr Vale was found with stab wounds on Robert Eggins Street in South Kempsey on March 1, 2023. The judge-alone trial began at Port Macquarie Supreme Court on June 29 and ran for four weeks.

The court heard Lardner stabbed Mr Vale twice, including wounds to the lower side of the chest and through the rib cage and heart. Mr Vale died within 15 minutes. Justice Stephen Campbell accepted that Lardner killed Mr Vale, but found there was insufficient evidence to prove intent required for murder.

Justice Campbell ruled that a drug transaction had occurred between the pair at an earlier time and said Mr Vale had developed a grievance over inferior-quality drugs. Defence barrister Dennis Stewart argued Lardner acted in self-defence and picked up a knife that had fallen from Mr Vale’s pocket.

Justice Campbell refused Lardner bail after the verdict. He is due to be sentenced on November 13.