Dad 'stabbed son to death then left to watch AFL grand final', court hears
A Perth man who stabbed his son to death after the 23-year-old asked to borrow his car argues he acted in self-defence, having endured aggressive behaviour and physical abuse.
The body of Matthew Kyle Fisher-Turner was discovered in late October 2016 buried in the backyard of the family’s Parmelia home and it’s believed he was killed almost four weeks earlier.
Ernest Albert Fisher is charged with murder while two of his other children, Joshua Douglas Fisher-Turner and Hannah Jayde Fisher-Turner, are accused of being accessories to murder.
Prosecutor Laura Christian told the Supreme Court of Western Australia on Monday that Fisher stabbed his son several times with two sharp knives, puncturing a lung and aorta.
Ms Christian said Mr Fisher-Turner had asked to borrow his father’s car, which triggered an argument because Fisher wanted to drive to friends to watch the AFL grand final.
After the killing, he started digging a grave in the rear garden, then left the house to watch the match, leaving it up to Joshua to bury his brother, while Hannah helped carry the body outside on a ladder, Ms Christian said.
Days later, Fisher told the deceased’s concerned friends his son had “gone over east with a chicky babe”, initially telling police he presumed he’d travelled to Brisbane to see a girl he met on Facebook.
But when police said they believed Mr Fisher-Turner had never left the house and had died there, Fisher confessed, describing the victim as “horrible”, claiming he was using drugs and behaved very aggressively.
Defence counsel Sam Vandongen said his client admitted killing his son and instructing at least one of his other children to clean up afterwards but argued he acted in self-defence, although the threat was not imminent.
“He did what he did … in order to defend himself and defend his children,” Mr Vandongen said.
The lawyer said the pair had been badly affected by the death from cancer of the family matriarch in March 2014.
The accused trio became reclusive, but Mr Fisher-Turner kept himself fit at the gym and actively socialised outside the house.
He directed his anger and vitriol towards his family and physically assaulted his father several times, Mr Vandongen said.
The trial continues.
