Accused man tried with victim in vegetative state

(CNS): The trial of Gary Hurlstone, who is charged with the attempted murder of Wesley Clarke, opened in Grand Court on Tuesday, while the victim remains in hospital in a vegetative state. Acting Justice Nova Hall is presiding in the judge-alone case in which the 41-year-old George Town man is accused of stabbing Clarke in the neck during a dispute between the two men at a Windsor Park party in June last year. Hurlston has denied being the person who stabbed the victim but a witness at the scene told the court Tuesday that he saw his friend Clarke arguing with the defendant seconds before he clutched his neck and declared, “They killed me!”

He was taken to the hospital immediately following the stabbing and before he slipped into a coma. Clark remains in an unresponsive state and reportedly never named his attacker before he lost consciousness.

However, the crown’s key witness in the case, during his evidence in chief, explained the circumstances leading to the stabbing, which happened sometime around 3:00 on the morning of 21 June 2012. He said he believed it was Hurlston who had stabbed his friend.

A father of five children and a self-employed mechanic, Hurlstone is represented by defence counsel John Furniss following several months of problems regarding legal representation as a result of trial clashes and Hurlstone’s own disagreements with local attorneys.