A BURST aneurysm caused the death of a 56-year-old Wycheproof man rather than a punch to the head, a lawyer has told a Supreme Court jury.
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Twenty-eight-year-old Dane Edward McLennan - the man accused of killing John Durie - appeared in the Supreme Court on Thursday for the closing arguments of his criminal trial.
The court heard on August 30, 2019, Mr McLennan and Mr Durie were at a Wycheproof golf club after attending a day-long tournament.
The pair were playing a game of pool that evening when, in the context of "mucking around", Mr Durie either kicked or punched Mr McLennan in the stomach or groin area.
The prosecution alleged Mr McLennan was embarrassed and then angry, so he lashed out at Mr Durie and punched him in the head.
The court heard Mr Durie immediately collapsed and did not regain consciousness. He later died at the scene despite efforts at CPR.
In his closing arguments, crown prosecutor Patrick Bourke QC said the timing between the alleged punch and the collapse showed Mr McLennan had caused Mr Durie's death.
Mr Bourke said while evidence showed it was "very rare" for trauma to cause a tear to the carotid artery, it could still happen and did so in this case.
But defence counsel Geoffrey Steward said the prosecution's explanation was "little more than the preferred option".
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Mr Steward said expert evidence given to the court showed it was "vanishingly rare" for someone with such minimal injuries to end up with a tear to an artery found deep inside the head.
The defence counsel said statistics and the evidence showed it was far more likely that Mr Durie died from a burst aneurysm.
Mr Steward said if the jury determined Mr McLennan was responsible for the cause of death, then they could accept that the 28-year-old was acting in self-defence.
The defence counsel reminded the jury it was the prosecution who had to prove Mr McLennan committed the crime of manslaughter, rather than the defence having to prove Mr McLennan's innocence.
Mr Steward said on the basis of the evidence before the court, Mr McLennan should not be found guilty of manslaughter.
Justice Lesley Taylor started her closing instructions to the jury on Thursday afternoon.
The jury will return to the Supreme Court on Friday before retiring to make their decision.
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