Man admits assaults on elderly couple
Four days after his jury trial began, Douglas James Archer has pleaded guilty to serious assaults on his mother and stepfather at their St Martins home.
The pleas were entered before Judge Alistair Garland in the Christchurch District Court, after the trial had been halted for nearly two days when a legal issue arose.
Archer, 59, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of theft, and intentionally causing grievous bodily harm to June Geary, 80, and her husband Arthur Eaton, 72.
He was discharged on a charge of burglary.
When the charges of intentionally causing grievous bodily harm were read to him, he said he was pleading guilty “with some reluctance”.
Judge Garland remanded him in custody for sentencing on November 19.
The elderly couple were found bloody and injured in their home after what the Crown alleged was an armed visit by Archer in March 2013.
Mrs Geary alleged Archer had beaten her with a club, and a statement from Mr Eaton – read to the court because he has since died – said Archer had attacked him with a pair of scissors and a cut-throat razor.
When Archer was spotted by police and approached in Linwood Park a few days after the attack, he cut his own neck with a craft knife before being subdued and taken to hospital.
Judge Garland told the jury they could see that those involved in the trial had been active while the trial had been halted for two days. Their time had not been wasted, because their presence had been a substantial motivation for the accused in changing his pleas, and he thanked them on behalf of the community.
Category: Focus
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