Jury hears closing addresses in trial of man accused of murdering Bangladeshi student
Brendan Kantilla is on trial for murder in the NT Supreme Court in Darwin. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
In short:
Brendan Kantilla has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter over the death of 23-year-old Bangladeshi student Md Isfaqur Rahman in Darwin in 2023.
The defence and prosecution in his murder trial have delivered their closing addresses to the jury following a week of evidence.
What's next?
The jury will hear a summing up of the case from the judge before beginning their deliberations.
A man accused of murdering a 23-year-old student as he slept in his Darwin home acted in a "chillingly premeditated" and "extremely violent way", a jury has heard on the final day of a week-long Northern Territory Supreme Court trial.
Warning: This story contains content that may be distressing to some readers.
Brendan Kantilla, 31, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Bangladeshi man Md Isfaqur Rahman in the Darwin suburb of Millner in May 2023.
Mr Kantilla has pleaded guilty to the alternative charge of manslaughter.
Brendan Kantilla is facing trial for murder. (Supplied: Facebook)
By doing so, he has accepted his actions caused the death of Mr Rahman but denies he intended to cause the death.
The defence is arguing the partial defence of diminished responsibility, which would mean Mr Kantilla was substantially mentally impaired at the time.
The court has previously heard from Mr Rahman's roommate, Tm Safi Sami, police, a forensic expert and two neuropsychologists, with closing submissions being heard on Friday.
'Actions speak louder than words', prosecution submits
In his closing address to the jury, crown prosecutor Lloyd Babb SC told the jury Mr Kantilla was "clearly acting with intent" when he entered Mr Rahman's home on May 3, 2023 and struck him over the head with a brick paver, rendering him unconscious.
"The saying 'actions speak louder than words' comes to mind," Mr Babb said.
"What a person does is the best indicator of their true intentions and the actions in this case are clear and undeniable."
Lloyd Babb SC says Brendan Kantilla acted with intent. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
Mr Babb replayed for the jury sections of a recorded police interview conducted the day after the incident, during which Mr Kantilla demonstrated how he struck the victim and told officers he "slammed" the victim's face.
Mr Kantilla can also be heard saying the student "nearly passed away from me".
"The sheer ferocity, the force of it, the weapon used, speak to an intent to cause death or serious harm,"Mr Babb said.
The court previously heard Mr Kantilla had a brief verbal altercation with two men, including Mr Rahman, in the hours before the incident.
It also heard when Mr Kantilla returned to the Millner house, he checked for CCTV cameras and later hid the bloodied brick paver, which police were never able to locate.
Md Isfaqur Rahman had moved to Darwin from Bangladesh for his studies. (Supplied: Bangladeshi Student Association)
"This wasn't an act done on impulse," Mr Babb said.
"The evidence is, he marked the property in his mind and returned there with the specific intention of retaliating against the deceased and Mr Safi."
Mr Babb urged the jury to accept evidence from neuropsychologist Peter Ashkar, who told the court he did not think the accused was "substantially mentally impaired" at the time of the alleged offending.
Accused 'not attempting to avoid criminal responsibility'
Mr Kantilla's defence barrister, Phillip Boulten SC, told the court in his closing address that his client was "not attempting to avoid criminal responsibility for Mr Rahman's death".
Mr Boulten said the greatest area of dispute between the prosecution and the defence was whether Mr Kantilla had an intellectual disability and was mentally impaired at the time of the alleged murder.
He said if the jury were to accept Mr Kantilla was cognitively impaired, that would "go a very, very long way to explain what happened in that house that night".
Phillip Boulten SC says Brendan Kantilla was "functioning as a child" on the night of the incident. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
The court heard evidence from two neuropsychologists during the trial — Laura Scott and Peter Ashkar — who disagreed on the extent of Mr Kantilla's cognitive impairment.
Mr Boulten urged the jury to adopt the evidence of Ms Scott, who told the court it was "more likely than not" that the accused had a mild intellectual disability.
"She was the more authoritative witness, we say," Mr Boutlen said.
"She was the better witness, we say."
Mr Boulten said Ms Scott's evidence should be "preferred" over Dr Ashkar's because she had more experience assessing Aboriginal people in the NT.
He also pointed to findings by Ms Scott that Mr Kantilla lacked the ability to control his impulses and understand the seriousness of his actions.
Md Isfaqur Rahman died at his share house in Millner in May 2023. (ABC News: Hamish Harty)
Mr Boulten also highlighted Ms Scott's finding that regardless of intoxication, Mr Kantilla would have been substantially mentally impaired.
"His understanding of right from wrong was childlike, his ability to control his temper was childlike," Mr Boulten said.
You are judging a man who was functioning as a child."
"He expects to be punished and so he should be, but my plea to you is to find him guilty of manslaughter, not murder."
NT Supreme Court Judge Sonia Brownhill will deliver her summing up of the case on Friday afternoon, before the jury is sent to deliberate.