A 21-year-old man has been found not guilty after arguing he stabbed two men in Queenstown in self-defence, leaving them with serious injuries.
Jack James Harrington was on trial in the Invercargill District Court this week on two charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, after an incident in the resort on August 18, 2019.
Just before 2.30am about 15 people became involved in a fight which began following a comment about a hat.
During the scuffle Harrington stabbed two men. One was stabbed four times in the chest , and the other was stabbed once in the abdomen.
They were part of a group of eight people from Wellington who had travelled to Queenstown on a ski trip.
Both suffered serious injuries and were transported to Dunedin Hospital by helicopter for surgery.
One sustained lacerations to his liver and the other suffered injuries to his bladder.
A young Queenstown police officer held the stomach of one man together, providing life-saving first aid, before a helicopter could arrive.
Defence counsel Bill Dawkins told the court Harrington had acted in self-defence.
And after almost two hours of deliberation yesterday the jury agreed, finding Harrington not guilty.
His family and supporters in the public gallery became emotional when the verdict was read out.
Earlier, Judge Bernadette Farnan told the jury that while the defence accepted it was not smart for Harrington to be carrying a knife, his circumstances — which included post traumatic stress disorder following a previous violent incident — needed to be considered.
Harrington’s defence counsel admitted he stabbed both men, but did so because he felt threatened and was worried one was about to ‘‘bottle’’ one of his friends.
Crown solicitor Mary-Jane Thomas argued it was not an act of self-defence and Harrington could have walked away from the altercation if he was as frightened as he said he was.
Earlier in the trial Ms Thomas said she wanted the jury to be clear the injuries suffered by both men were serious and not ‘‘little scratches’’.
