This incident where a home owner shot an armed intruder will test the mettle of the NSW Police and Labor State Government.
Will the 75 year old home occupant be charged for shooting the intruder, 34 year old Joshua Dylan Trethewey, allegedly for forcing entry into the home, stabbing the woman in the chest and slashing the man across the abdomen while both are fighting for life after being airlifted to the Gold Coast University Hospital?
The Ben Fordham radio show is syndicated across Australia hence NSW Police will have to behave with some honour in this case and as Queensland MP Robbie Katter said: “Why should a person have to be conscious of being charged by police when defending his life, his wife’s life and his home?”
This is the conundrum on which Katters Australian Party’s proposed Castle Law hinges. The Queensland Liberal National Party Government so far has ignored a home owner’s right of self-defence which has been made entirely clear by centuries of Common Law.
A man’s home is his Castle.
Update from NSW Police:
Police have been told 75-year-old Keith Blessing and his 72-year-old wife Di were home at the time when a 34-year-old man entered the premises and allegedly stabbed both with a knife.
The woman collapsed with a chest wound while her husband was slashed across his abdomen, before the man went outside onto the verandah.
The homeowner called Triple Zero (000) seeking urgent assistance and police from Tenterfield and Glen Innes and NSW Ambulance paramedics were immediately despatched.
Before police arrived; however, the younger man attempted to get back into the house and was allegedly shot by the resident.
The couple were treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics for serious injuries, before being airlifted to Gold Coast Hospital in a critical condition.
The younger man was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics for a gunshot wound and is being taken by road ambulance to Armidale Hospital under police guard. He is reported to be in a serious but stable condition.
A crime scene has been established by officers attached to New England Police District and an investigation into the incident has commenced
Inquiries so far indicate the younger man is not known to the couple.
