A man has been sentenced to five years’ jail for killing a man by stabbing him in the heart during a drug-fueled wrestle in Adelaide.
Key points:
- Matthew Bristow’s body was found on a footpath in Prospect in 2020
- Abdi Abdullah Ali was found guilty of his manslaughter
- The court was told Mr Bristow’s death had caused untold grief to his family
Matthew Scott Bristow’s body was found by a passer-by on a footpath at Prospect in February 2020.
He died from a single stab wound to the heart.
Abdi Abdullah Ali was found guilty of manslaughter by an unlawful and dangerous act, but was acquitted of a murder charge.
The Supreme Court heard both men had been affected by drugs and the circumstances of the offending were unclear — but it was likely the men had wrestled with a knife while inside a car.
Justice Anne Bampton said she accepted Ali had no intention of killing Mr Bristow or grievously injuring him, but said Mr Bristow’s death had caused “untold grief” to his family.
His mother had told the court through a victim impact statement that her life had been “consumed by agony.”
“She poignantly said that her son died alone and that the blood that spilled on the lonely street of Prospect was her blood,” Justice Bampton said.
The court heard Ali, who was born in Somalia, turned to alcohol and drugs as a teenager and woke up in a car in Adelaide one day after attending a party in Melbourne.
“It seemed you had been stuck here, treading water, drinking, taking drugs and living a much less productive lifestyle,” Justice Bampton said.
She sentenced Ali to five years and three months’ jail with a non-parole period of four years and two months.
.