The man accused of murdering Canberra man Jae-Ho Oh has told the ACT Supreme Court he did not intend to kill him.
Key points:
- Joshua Higgins is accused of murder, but says he was defending himself
- He told the court he believed Mr Oh was sexually assaulting him
- The court also heard the pair had been drinking heavily, and Mr Higgins had been awake for 61 hours before the killing
Joshua Higgins, 32, took to the witness stand today and told the court he had woken in the early hours of the morning on March 11, 2019, to find Mr Oh on top of him.
The pair had been drinking heavily at Mr Oh’s home on Hall Best Lane in Gungahlin when Mr Higgins fell asleep, the court has previously heard.
Mr Higgins said when he woke to find Mr Oh on top of him, he was convinced he was being sexually assaulted.
He said when he asked what Mr Oh was doing and told him he was going to call the police, Mr Oh told him to “f*** off”.
He said Mr Oh then grabbed a knife.
“He came at me with a knife first. I took it off him and he tried to take it back,” Mr Higgins told the court.
Mr Higgins said Mr Oh then went and got another knife, and tried to attack him again.
The court heard Mr Higgins punched Mr Oh in the face and obtained the knife before stabbing him.
“I just remember stabbing,” Mr Higgins said.
The defence counsel, Kieran Ginges, asked: “Did you ever think you’d killed him?”
“No, I didn’t expect him to be dead,” Mr Higgins replied.
“I was just trying to protect myself to the best I could.
Under cross examination by Prosecutor Trent Hickey, Mr Higgins was questioned about being sure Mr Oh had been trying to “molest” him.
“Do you allow for the possibility that Jae didn’t molest you that night?” Mr Hickey said.
“I don’t,” Mr Higgins said.
“I distinctly remember pulling my pants up again.”
Mr Higgins told the court some parts of the night are hazy but that he “will never forget” waking up with his pants down, Mr Oh on top of him or Mr Oh coming at him with a knife.
“At the end, I lost control,” Mr Higgins said.
“I was just trying to survive and get out of there.”
Mr Higgins also claimed that on the night before the murder, Mr Oh lay on top of him and “slobbered” on his face while he was on a bed in a bedroom at Mr Oh’s house.
Mr Higgins said that when he asked what Mr Oh was doing, the pair laughed and then Mr Higgins moved to a bed in the lounge room.
Accused murderer had been awake for 61 hours prior to attack
The court heard Mr Higgins and Mr Oh had been drinking all day Sunday, with Mr Higgins consuming between 15 and 30 alcoholic drinks.
He was also under the influence of the drug ice at the time of the attack, and was severely sleep-deprived.
Mr Higgins told the court he’d been awake for approximately 61 hours — from Friday morning until he went to bed at Mr Oh’s house on Sunday evening.
“Are you more impulsive when you’re on ice?” Mr Hickey asked.
“Yeah, to some extent,” Mr Higgins replied.
“Do you allow for the possibility you were in an aggressive and impulsive state?” Mr Hickey said.
“No,” Mr Higgins replied.
Mr Higgins conceded his decision-making may have been impaired by the lack of sleep and that he was suffering from anxiety and heightened stress levels.
“I don’t think my thoughts were that distorted at the time,” Mr Higgins told the court.
“I wasn’t suffering from any hallucinations.”
Police were called to the property about 2:00am on March 11, the court heard, at which point a police officer administered CPR on Mr Oh.
He died at the scene.