Parra Guru
Coach
- Messages
- 14,645
Former NRL star Greg Bird will walk free after a judge quashed his conviction for cutting his girlfriend's face with a glass.
The former Cronulla Shark player's girlfriend, Katie Milligan, suffered a broken eye socket and cuts to her eye during an altercation at Bird's flat in August last year.
Judge Michael Finnane believed the evidence of Bird and Milligan that her injury was an accident, caused when an "agitated" and "irrational" Milligan lunged at him with a glass in her hand.
Bird was sentenced in June to at least eight months' jail time, with a maximum of 16 months, after being found guilty of reckless wounding.
The 25-year-old, who now plays for the Catalan Dragons in the English Super League, has been on bail after lodging an appeal following the guilty verdict.
Bird and his girlfriend then claimed it was all an accident, blaming Milligan's drug use and aggression, and saying she started the fight.
Judge Finnane said he accepted their evidence that the injury was caused when Mr Bird tried to defend himself.
"Perhaps his arm forced her hand back into her face, perhaps she withdrew her arm at the time he grabbed her wrist it's hard to know ... It happened very quickly."
Judge Finnane said Ms Milligan was far from subservient to Mr Bird, like many victims of domestic violence.
"In my opinion what the evidence shows is that Ms Milligan was a forthright, intelligent, somewhat neurotic young woman who made up her own mind what she was going to do where she was going to go and where she was going to stay."
Judge Finnane said he believed the evidence of the pair, despite their ""extremely foolish" and "extremely reckless" lies about the matter that followed.
It was "an example how if people tell lies to maintain the lie more and more and more lies are told," Judge Finnane said.
However he said Mr Bird's lies had been to protect his public image and were not told because of a consciousness of guilt, Mr Finnane said.
Upon hearing the news Mr Bird exhaled before turning to Ms Milligan and giving her a wide grin.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/lhqnews/bird-walks-free/2009/11/25/1258824742675.html
The former Cronulla Shark player's girlfriend, Katie Milligan, suffered a broken eye socket and cuts to her eye during an altercation at Bird's flat in August last year.
Judge Michael Finnane believed the evidence of Bird and Milligan that her injury was an accident, caused when an "agitated" and "irrational" Milligan lunged at him with a glass in her hand.
Bird was sentenced in June to at least eight months' jail time, with a maximum of 16 months, after being found guilty of reckless wounding.
The 25-year-old, who now plays for the Catalan Dragons in the English Super League, has been on bail after lodging an appeal following the guilty verdict.
Bird and his girlfriend then claimed it was all an accident, blaming Milligan's drug use and aggression, and saying she started the fight.
Judge Finnane said he accepted their evidence that the injury was caused when Mr Bird tried to defend himself.
"Perhaps his arm forced her hand back into her face, perhaps she withdrew her arm at the time he grabbed her wrist it's hard to know ... It happened very quickly."
Judge Finnane said Ms Milligan was far from subservient to Mr Bird, like many victims of domestic violence.
"In my opinion what the evidence shows is that Ms Milligan was a forthright, intelligent, somewhat neurotic young woman who made up her own mind what she was going to do where she was going to go and where she was going to stay."
Judge Finnane said he believed the evidence of the pair, despite their ""extremely foolish" and "extremely reckless" lies about the matter that followed.
It was "an example how if people tell lies to maintain the lie more and more and more lies are told," Judge Finnane said.
However he said Mr Bird's lies had been to protect his public image and were not told because of a consciousness of guilt, Mr Finnane said.
Upon hearing the news Mr Bird exhaled before turning to Ms Milligan and giving her a wide grin.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/lhqnews/bird-walks-free/2009/11/25/1258824742675.html
