THE jury in the trial of a man accused of stabbing a stranger, twice in the arm with a double-edged knife, will retire this afternoon.
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Toby Lloyd George, 24, of Mowbray, pleaded not guilty in the Launceston Supreme Court yesterday, to assault and wounding.
The Crown has accused Mr George of having twice stabbed the complainant, Simon Driton Helshani, in the lower right arm in the early hours of January 12 this year, near the intersection of Hobart Road and Nunamina Avenue, Kings Meadows.
Mr George is also facing an allegation that prior to the knifing, he assaulted Mr Helshani by attempting to punch him to the head and/or body with a clenched fist, through Mr Helshani's open car window.
The defence however, has denied that Mr George had anything to do with the crime and that the identity of the offender was at issue.
Today, defence counsel Alan Hensley closed his client's case by calling Mr George's partner, with whom Mr George has two children, to give evidence.
Kristi Smart, a mother of four, told the court that overnight between January 11 and 12, she attended a relative's get-together in Holbrook Street, Invermay.
Ms Smart said Mr George stayed at home, which was then at Newnham, to look after the four children and he was at home when she returned before 3am on January 12.
In his closing address, Mr Hensley told the jury that the sole evidence that suggested his client's involvement was Mr George's fingerprints on Mr Helshani's car, and Mr Helshani's identification of Mr George's photo on a police photo board where Mr Helshani stated that the photo "looked similar" to the man who attacked him.
Mr Hensley conceded that Ms Smart was not an alibi, but said she had not lied to protect Mr George, because if she had, she would have said that she was with Mr George the whole time.
In his closing address, Mr Sherriff told the court that Mr Helshani had the best opportunity to get a look at the man who stabbed him, whom he described as "very angry", because he had grabbed the man's right arm in an effort to deflect the man's attack.
He said forensic evidence of Mr George's left hand fingerprints, including his left palm, which were found on Mr Helshani's car, was consistent with Mr George using his right hand to attack and stab Mr Helshani.
Mr Sherriff refuted defence suggestions that Mr George's left hand fingerprints ended up on the car because at some stage prior to the incident, Mr George had been admiring Mr Helshani's black Subaru WRX parked in the Seaport area.
