The father of murder victim Sabah Al-Mdwali rocked in his chair and hit the sides of his head after police told him his daughter had been killed and he was a suspect, a court has heard.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Maged Mohommed Ahmed Al-Harazi, 36, was charged with fatally stabbing his wife, Ms Al-Mdwali, 28, nearly 60 times as she breastfed their infant son inside their Gordon house in March 2015.
Mr Al-Harazi was charged with murder but has pleaded not guilty.
He told police his wife's father and teenage brother asked him to leave the Knoke Avenue house with their children the night of March 16 and when he returned home she was dead.
The accused said he drove to Tuggeranong police station with the children to report she'd been killed.
Ms Al-Mdwali's father and brother were arrested but released without charge.
Her husband's ACT Supreme Court jury trial on Tuesday heard evidence from police who spoke with Ms Al-Mdwali's family the morning of March 17.
Detective Senior Constable Jarryd Dunbar said police had stopped Mohammed Al-Mdwali's car near his Gowrie home and tried to explain his daughter was dead and he was under arrest as a suspect in her killing.
He said Mr Al-Mdwali appeared confused as one officer formed a fist with her hand and made a stabbing motion towards her chest and said "Sabah".
Mr Al-Mdwali was taken to the ACT Watch House, where he was told through an Arabic interpreter that Ms Al-Mdwali had been found dead at home, her injuries suggested she'd been murdered, and he was a suspect in her killing.
He repeated his daughter's name and asked the interpreter numerous times if police were sure she was dead before he finally understood, Detective Senior Constable Dunbar said.
"He started to rock into his chair, bang the side of his head with his hands and began to tear at his shirt he was wearing."
The court heard Mr Al-Mdwali asked numerous times where his son-in-law was and whether he had been arrested.
Detective Senior Constable Dunbar said Mr Al-Harazi's eyes were puffy and bloodshot when he spoke to the accused that same day.
He appeared "tired and upset" and grew emotional, sometimes hysterical, when he spoke about his wife," he said.
The court heard from another police witness that Ms Al-Mdwali's teenage brother appeared "shocked" when officers went to his family's home and told him his sister was dead.
The trial, before Justice Richard Refshauge, continues on Thursday.
