LILY Ridgeway, the young woman who claims she was acting in self-defence when she stabbed to death Jason Adams at Raymond Terrace in February, has again been refused bail, with a judge finding she posed an unacceptable risk of endangering the community if released.
Ms Ridgeway, 21, of Taree, launched a second bid for bail this week, this time before the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney, with her solicitor, Aboriginal Legal Service Trial Advocate Elana Scoufis, claiming a combination of the self-defence issue and strict bail conditions, including a relocation to central-west NSW, house arrest, mental health treatment and drug counselling meant any risks Ms Ridgeway posed could be mitigated and she could be granted release ahead of a murder trial expected to be held in late 2021.
In a judgment on Thursday morning, Justice Richard Button said Ms Ridgeway's application for release "was on the cusp", finding, much like a magistrate had in July, that the 21-year-old had cleared the first hurdle of "showing cause", but ultimately determined there were no bail conditions that could mitigate the risk she posed if released.
"The undeniable objective fact is that [Ms Ridgeway] fatally stabbed a person while on parole," Justice Button said. "Inevitably, that gives rise immediately to a question of public safety."
Justice Button said there was a strong case for the murder charge to ultimately be reduced to manslaughter on the basis of excessive self-defence, suggesting the prosecution would have difficulty disproving beyond reasonable doubt Ms Ridgeway did not believe her actions in stabbing Mr Adams were necessary.
But he said there were some "troubling aspects" to the murder allegation.
"As I understand it there is no evidence of any injury whatsoever to [Ms Ridgeway]," Justice Button said. "It is alleged that she has said she saw the flash of a knife in the possession of the deceased. But as I understand it that was not seen by others and when his body was located he was unarmed.
"As well as that it is alleged her associate has said that immediately after the stabbing [Ms Ridgeway] said some very disturbing words suggesting taking some enjoyment in the process of killing a fellow human being."
Ms Scoufis said "little reliance" could be placed on the evidence of that witness, who she said had attempted to distance herself from Mr Adams' death and had given a conflicting account to others at the scene.
Ultimately, Justice Richard Button said despite the self-defence issues and the conditions proposed, granting Ms Ridgeway bail would be "too risky".
Ms Ridgeway has now exhausted her applications for release ahead of a trial in 2021 and will next appear in Sydney Supreme Court in November to be arraigned and get a trial date.
