Adelaide killer 'licked bloodied knife' after stabbing man in chest

A woman from Adelaide licked the bloodied knife with which she stabbed a man in the chest, an Australian court heard on Monday (4 September).

Leanne Prak, went on trial for the murder of Michael McEvoy, 65 at a unit of the suburban Holden Hill in May last year.

She pleaded not guilty to murder but admitted to a lesser offence of manslaughter which is not accepted by the Crown.

During the opening of the trial in the Supreme Court, prosecutor Chris Edge told the court that Prak, who was an alcoholic, had been drunk at the time of the incident which turned into an argument between her and McEvoy.

Prak picked up a kitchen knife and stabbed McEvoy through the heart. He collapsed and fell to the ground.

Edge said that the 41-year-old defendant went on to stab the victim seven more times in the back. Some of the wounds showed that the knife penetrated his chest.

"It appears she licked the blade of that bloodied knife," the prosecutor claimed.

Edge also said that scientific evidence would back up the line of argument as Prak's saliva would be found on the blade mixed with McEvoy's blood.

McEvoy died from the various stab wounds and the effect the knife attack had on his heart and lungs, Edge told the court.

Justice David Peek said the woman had admitted she was guilty of manslaughter. The prosecution now had to prove Prak's level of criminal intent at the time of the incident and her state of mind during the attack, Justice Peek added.