Father and sonwho cut finger off teen burglar found not guilty
A father and son who beat and cut the finger off a teenage burglar have been found not guilty on all charges.
Gasps could be heard from the public gallery packed with the family and friends of William and Shaun Burr as they were found not guilty after about six hours of jury deliberations.
William Burr was found not guilty on six charges, and Shaun Burr was found not guilty on four charges after arguing self defence at a trial in the Hamilton High Court yesterday.
The men had been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and wounding with intent to injure, maiming with intent to injure, and maiming with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. William Burr was also charged with assaulting a female, and assaulting with intent to injure
The jury had earlier heard how William (Bill) Bruce Burr was woken by would-be burglars in his King Country home in October 2020. The teenager had stolen three other cars from William Burr and broke bail to come back with his girlfriend for a fourth attempt.
After being hit on the head with a wine bottle, William Burr got his gun and marched the pair into the kitchen, before his son Shaun Bruce Burr arrived.
Philip Morgan QC said, in his closing statement, William Burr had good reason to believe the boy was dangerous. He said the man’s actions were reasonable given the circumstances.
The teenager admitted he had a knife, and said that he had planned to use it, Morgan said. This was what William Burr was afraid of.
The 17-year-old was not just lying on the floor and taking the beating – he was repeatedly trying to get up. ‘‘My argument to you is that plainly, he was acting in the defence of himself and his son.’’
Shaun Burr’s lawyer Simon Lance said, when the defence asked the teenager why he was hiding the knife, he said he wanted to stab the Burrs. The difference was, Lance said, that William Burr did not want to use his lethal weapon, but the teenager did. He said Shaun Burr did the right thing by running to his father’s aid. But Crown prosecutor Rebecca Mann argued the men had other options available to them, and the violence was unnecessary.
Mann said it only took one punch by Shaun Burr to floor the teenager. But the Burrs kept punching.
Then, William Burr introduced the piece of wood as a weapon, which was not defensive behaviour, she said. When the boy let go of the knife, neitherwilliam Burr or Shaun Burr stopped or grabbed it – they just kept hitting him.
The teenager made no sound when they cut off his finger, Mann said. She argued the teenager was no threat at this point, and the violence should have stopped.