May 27, 2010

'I cut his throat,' Smail told friend after killing

Smail murder trial, Day 4. By Anne Clarkson

Eric Neil Smail phoned a friend saying, ?I cut his throat,? after he had stabbed Keith Graeme McCormick, but he was not believed and told not to be silly.

Leendert Schafer told the fourth day of Smail?s murder trial in the High Court at Christchurch that he spent the day of Mr McCormick?s death with Smail because Smail was working for him as a labourer.

He said it was raining that day and so the workers all went to a bar in Linwood in the morning to play pool and darts. They went on to a Sumner bar in the afternoon and continued drinking until Mr Schafer went home at 2.30pm.

That night he received the phone call from Smail saying ?I?ve killed Keith, ring the police. I cut his throat.? ?

He said he told him not to be silly, but Smail said, ?I did Schafe, I did?.

Mr Schafer said he still didn?t believe him, as he sounded normal, and told him not to be late for work the next day.

The barman at the Cave Tavern, Roydon Pinn, said Smail was still drinking at the hotel in Sumner and even though he knew he was supposed to start work at 5pm he didn?t leave until 5.10pm.

Mr Pinn told him a few times that he should leave to go to his job.

He said Smail drank ?like a fish? but he couldn?t tell how much he had had that day, but said he was probably affected by alcohol.

Richard Lewis said that during the time he flatted with Smail in 2003, he had a conversation in which Smail told him that he and Mr McCormick had talked about compassionate euthanasia if Mr McCormick was ever terminally ill.

Fifty-three-year-old Smail is claiming provocation in a case where he is accused of killing Mr McCormick, who was paralysed, by cutting his throat.

His defence counsel Judith Ablett-Kerr told the court on Monday that Smail had been stressed by caring for his injured friend, and had alcohol problems and limited coping skills. She said Smail accepted responsibility for his actions and would accept a finding of manslaughter.

The crown is calling 51 witnesses and the trial is expected to run for four weeks.