Self-defence or murder? Jury retire to decide Jesmond love triangle stabbing

A JURY have retired to determine whether or not Kevin George Smith was acting in self-defence when he stabbed rival Daniel Pettersson to death inside a home at Jesmond last year.

Mr Smith and Mr Pettersson had been in a relationship with the same woman and had been involved in a bitter dispute over paternity of a child before their rivalry came to a head during a volatile confrontation at a house in Michael Street on the afternoon of January 6.

There is no dispute Mr Smith was armed with a knife and stabbed Mr Pettersson in the chest during a wrestle in the kitchen of the home between 3.34pm and 3.39pm.

But he has pleaded not guilty to murder on the basis of self-defence and his trial in Newcastle Supreme Court has focused on what happened during that crucial five minute period between when Mr Pettersson arrived at the home looking for his ex-partner and child and when he collapsed outside suffering a stab wound to the right side of his chest.

Specialist police examining the scene in Michael Street, Jesmond, after Daniel Pettersson collapsed and died outside from a stab wound on January 6, 2022. Kevin George Smith has pleaded not guilty to his murder.

On the day he died, Mr Pettersson had been trying to contact the woman, including making 17 calls to her phone and seven calls to her father.

Dash cam footage from a vehicle in Michael Street showed Mr Pettersson had pulled up outside the house for a short time about 15 minutes before the confrontation.

He soon drove away and phone records show Mr Pettersson immediately made a call to his friend and flatmate, Wade McKinnon.

Mr Pettersson picked up Mr McKinnon, asked for a lighter to hold in his hand in case he punched something and returned to the house where he yelled out for the woman to let him see his child.

The woman told him to leave and as Mr Pettersson stood on the front step with the woman blocking his path, Mr Smith appeared inside brandishing a knife.

According to Mr McKinnon, he saw Mr Smith stab at Mr Pettersson, while the woman at the centre of the love triangle gave evidence that Mr Smith only held the knife to try to "intimidate" Mr Pettersson or scare him off.

Mr Smith was told to put the knife away and Public Defender Peter Krisenthal told the jury he had just put the weapon down, was not acting aggressively or looking for a fight and was, in fact, "retreating from a volatile situation" when Mr Pettersson forced his way into the home and the pair began a scuffle that would end with Mr Smith stabbing Mr Pettersson in the chest.

During his closing address, Crown prosecutor Brendan Queenan had said Mr Smith was the aggressor, was not acting in self-defence and had stabbed Mr Pettersson with the intention to kill or cause him really serious injury.

The jury have been told Mr Smith should be acquitted of murder on the basis of self-defence if they find that he believed stabbing Mr Pettersson was necessary to defend himself and what he did was a reasonable response in the circumstances.

However, if it was necessary for Mr Smith to defend himself but what he did was not a reasonable response in the circumstances then he should be found not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter on the basis of excessive self-defence.

After listening to four days of evidence and submissions, the jury retired to begin deliberating about 12.10pm on Monday.