An accused murderer "feared for his life" when his alleged victim came at him with a knife, a court has heard.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Milan Urlich, 30, claims he grabbed Andrew Carville’s wrist, spun him around, and put him in a choke hold.
"I squeezed … cause he still had the knife," Milan Urlich told an ACT Supreme Court jury from the witness stand on Tuesday.
"I let go of him when he dropped the knife."
The court heard Mr Carville, 52, fell to the floor and Milan Urlich had "slapped him" to wake him, but realised he was dead.
Milan Urlich told his Supreme Court murder trial that he then concealed Mr Carville's body in a rug and placed it on the back of his ute, before leaving soon after.
When asked why he had not called for help or an ambulance, he said: "I didn't know what to do. I freaked out".
"Just put him on the back of the ute and leave. At the time I wasn’t thinking."
Milan Urlich, 30, is on trial accused of murdering Mr Carville on November 4, 2015.
He admits he caused Mr Carville's death, but he has pleaded not guilty to murder.
His brother Marc Urlich, 45, is also on trial, accused of helping to move and hide the body.
He has also pleaded not guilty.
Last week, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy told the ACT Supreme Court the deceased had suffered a fracture to a hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage in his neck.
Beng Beng Ong told the jury the cartilage damage could be seen in circumstances where there was compression to the neck such as in the form of hanging, ligature or manual strangulation, or an "arm lock".
A second pathologist, Malcolm Dodd, who had expertise in determining cause of death when time had passed since the death, said mild to moderate force would be required to damage the bone and cartilage.
Milan Urlich entered the witness stand on Tuesday to give his account of the death, saying he had not told a single person previously.
Under cross-examination, Milan Urlich conceded that he was larger than Mr Carville, who the prosecution described as a "small, frail man".
"He was a lot smaller, yes," Milan Urlich said.
Milan Urlich – who has been diagnosed as schizophrenic – said he had no plan on where to take Mr Carville’s body, but had instead followed the instructions given by "voices" in his head.
"I was just listening to the voices and getting directions from them," he said.
He said the voices had not told him to kill Mr Carville.
He said he then abandoned the ute, with Mr Carville's body still on the tray, in the paddock of a Sutton property.
The court heard Milan Urlich had been found wandering in that area on the morning of November 5 and was taken to Queanbeyan Hospital.
He told the court he could remember little of the following hours, however, could recall stealing a van from the War Memorial and driving to his brother’s home on Phillip Island, Victoria.
The Crown alleges the brothers then returned to Canberra where together they moved Mr Carville's body from the paddock before dumping Milan Urlich's ute at Molonglo Gorge, in Kowen Pine Forest.
The ute was found on November 14 and Mr Carville's body was uncovered during a police search on November 19.
The body had been hidden under a number of boulders, the heaviest weighed about 139 kilograms.
Milan Urlich said he had acted alone and denied his brother had any knowledge of his activities.
