Jail for deadly drunken attack
A THURSDAY Island man drank 22 stubbies of beer before he stomped his brotherin-law to death during an argument, a Cairns Court heard.
Numa Whap, 41, a one-time crayfish diver, nursery labourer and construction worker was jailed for eight years for the attack.
He pleaded guilty yesterday in Cairns Supreme Court to the manslaughter of Nigel Anthony Nuggin on the Torres Strait island last August.
Whap was due to stand trial for the murder of Mr Nuggin but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge.
After being stomped, the unconscious Mr Nuggin, described by his family as a “father figure” and “handyman”, was flown to Townsville with a brain bleed.
He never regained consciousness from the injuries and died from pneumonia – a complication of the blunt force trauma – six weeks later.
“He was obviously in a deep state of unconsciousness,” Justice James Henry said.
The assault on Mr Nuggin followed a day of drinking by Whap on August 31, 2017.
He had consumed 22 beers over two drinking sessions, before arguing with his defacto partner.
“The deceased, presumably having heard the ruckus, called the police,” Justice Henry said.
The court heard Whap and Mr Nuggin had later argued while separated by a wire fence before the deceased escalated the confrontation.
“As you walked to your premises, the deceased shook the fence and called you a woman beater,” Justice Henry said.
“You unhelpfully called him a child molester.
“Witnesses saw the deceased climb over the fence – he was perched on the cross beam, you and the deceased were yelling at each other.”
But no witnesses saw the moment Mr Nuggin fell to the ground prior to being stomped.
“It was the deceased who climbed the fence and inferentially must have leapt at you,” Justice Henry said.
“It can be inferred that he went to ground after impacting with your head – prior to the stomp, he was the physical aggressor.
“Your response was completely excessive – it was spontaneous and committed in a moment of drunken anger.”
YOUR RESPONSE WAS COMPLETELY EXCESSIVE — IT WAS SPONTANEOUS AND COMMITTED IN A MOMENT OF DRUNKEN ANGER JUSTICE JAMES HENRY