A teenage girl begged neighbours for help after seeing her father allegedly hack her mother to death with an axe and kitchen knife.
CCTV footage of the girl, then aged 16, banging on her neighbour’s front door was played to a Victorian Supreme Court jury on Tuesday as her father stands trial for murder.
Prosecutors allege Dinush Kurera, 47, killed Nelomie Perera in December 2022 in a “sustained, brutal and vicious attack” with a hatchet and kitchen knife.
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The 47-year-old has pleaded not guilty to murder, admitting he killed his wife but saying he did so to save his own life.
The daughter, now aged 18, told the jury she saw her father repeatedly strike and stab her mother with the axe and knife.
During her evidence on Monday, she told the court Kurera came to their house armed with an axe and threatened to burn the property down if they tried to contact police.
She said her mother was already bleeding from the head when she came downstairs and when her brother tried to flee, Kurera chased after him with the axe.
The teen told the jury she ran to the bathroom and tried to call triple zero but the calls did not connect.
She then heard her mother’s screams so she ran back into the kitchen and allegedly saw Kurera holding an axe and hovering over Perera, who was bleeding on the kitchen floor.
Kurera went to grab a knife from a kitchen drawer and the teen unsuccessfully tried to stop him, the jury was told.
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He then used that knife and the axe to allegedly strike and stab Perera repeatedly in the neck and upper body, the girl said.
The teen told the court she picked up a knife as well and was going to stab her father in the back but she did not follow through with her plan.
“I didn’t want to get in trouble,” she said.
“I felt like she was already going to die either way so I didn’t know what to do.”
Perera yelled out “I’m dead” as she was allegedly attacked and the girl ran from the house to her neighbours next door, the jury was told.
CCTV footage played to the court showed her banging on the front door, saying “dad’s killing mum” and “I’m pretty sure she’s dead”.
Kurera sat expressionless in the courtroom as the video was played.
He has pleaded not guilty to murder, saying he was acting in self-defence when he killed Perera because she came at him with a knife.
Kurera also denies striking his son with the axe as he tried to flee the house.
Perera was found in a pool of blood with 35 separate injuries, the jury was told.
Their son sustained injuries to the back of his head, knee and shoulder.
The daughter’s evidence continues.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyond blue on 1300 22 4636.
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