A young woman accused of assisting her boyfriend evade arrest after he stabbed his father to death at his 18th birthday party at Gateshead will face a trial in Newcastle District Court.
Jinaya Taylor, now 20, had her matter mentioned in court on Thursday after she pleaded not guilty to being an accessory after the fact to manslaughter over the death of 37-year-old Matthew Callaghan.
Matthew Callaghan was stabbed to death by his son, Jacob Callaghan, at his home in Mahogany Crescent late on January 9 last year - the night of Jacob's 18th birthday party.
The Newcastle Herald reported last week that Jacob Callaghan had pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis of excessive self-defence after prosecutors dropped a murder charge.
The now 19-year-old told friends that he had fatally stabbed his father to protect Taylor after his dad punched her in the head.
Paramedics found Matthew Callaghan alone in the home about 11.10pm after all of the other partygoers had fled.
He had been stabbed three times in the heart and died in the back of an ambulance.
Jacob Callaghan had been charged with murder, but prosecutors accepted a guilty plea to manslaughter after they were unable to exclude the possibility that the teenager believed his actions were necessary to defend himself or his girlfriend.
He told a friend on the night of the stabbing that his father had punched Taylor and then when he had attempted to intervene, his father had tried to stomp on his head.
"I jumped up and ran to the bathroom and grabbed the knife," Jacob Callaghan said.
"I told dad to 'f--- off'.
"Dad ran at me, so I stabbed him once.
"Dad came at me again and I stabbed him a couple more times."
Taylor pleaded not guilty to being an accessory after the fact to manslaughter in June after prosecutors dropped an accessory to murder charge to match Jacob Callaghan's plea.
The pair had been in a relationship for about two years, fled the home together after the stabbing and were arrested in Shortland together about six days later, according to court documents.
Police allege she "received, harboured, maintained or assisted" her boyfriend in the days before their arrest, knowing he had killed his father.
Taylor, who is on bail and living in Moree, was excused from attending court on Thursday when her matter was set down for a three-week trial in September 2027.
Jacob Callaghan remains behind bars and will appear in Newcastle District Court next month to get a sentence date.
