Accused’s ex tells of bloodied knife
A MAN accused of fatally stabbing a Gold Coast teenager during a botched drug deal was seen holding a bloodstained knife in his kitchen shortly after the incident, a court has heard.
Ryan John Howes pleaded not guilty to murdering Michael Brack on the opening day of his trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday.
The 16-year-old was stabbed in the neck after he allegedly tried to sell Howes 14 grams of marijuana in a park at the back of a Sorrento shopping complex on November 14, 2015.
Howes’ former girlfriend gave evidence she woke up to him and his brother returning home later that night.
“He walked in with a knife in his hand which had blood on it,” she said. She said the blue-handed implement, which they used to eat dinner, had been broken in half.
The court heard Howes had been drinking earlier in the day before he arranged to meet Mr Brack, who was going to sell him the marijuana for $160.
When they met, Crown prosecutor Glenn Cash told the jury Howes told Mr Brack he had to go home to get more money.
Mr Brack then refused to go ahead with the drug sale and Mr Cash said Howes “flipped out”, starting an altercation.
Mr Cash claimed Howes grabbed hold of Mr Brack’s head in a “hugging motion” before he stabbed him in the neck with the 10cm steak knife.
It went about eight centimetres into the 16-year-old’s body, almost severing an artery.
Mr Brack ran from the scene but died a short time later on a nearby street.
The court heard the jury would also hear evidence Howes heard “two clicks” of what he believed to be a gun, before he turned around and stabbed the teen.
Mr Cash said it would be for the jury to decide if he was acting in self-defence if he knew the apparent gun wasn’t going to fire.
The court heard Howes was located in the roof of his grandparents home, where he had been living, two days after the incident.
The trial continues.