Club stabbing accused acquitted

THE plea of self-defence that a young Walvis Bay resident raised in his trial on a charge of murder won his acquittal in the Swakopmund Regional Court this week.

Magistrate Ben Myburgh found Joey Yon (29) not guilty of murder on Monday. Yon had been prosecuted over the fatal stabbing of the 22-year-old Pascalino Thiro at a Swakopmund nightclub, Club New Edition, on February 1 2003.Yon denied that he was guilty of murder.He claimed that he had acted in self-defence when he stabbed Thiro, who he claimed had attacked him first.Yon’s defence bore fruit on Monday, when Magistrate Myburgh accepted his self-defence plea.The Magistrate noted that the court had heard testimony that Yon had tried to walk away from a confrontation with Thiro, who in the court’s view had been the aggressor in the altercation that he had with Yon during the early morning hours of February 1 2003.The Magistrate further noted that Yon had claimed that Thiro had himself also been armed with a knife when he – according to Yon – attacked Yon and the latter stabbed him in the chest in self-defence.Magistrate Myburgh accepted this evidence.He remarked that Yon’s claim of having been under attack appeared to be corroborated by a cut that Yon had on his hand after the incident.Yon’s explanation was that this wound had been caused by the knife that Thiro had attacked him with.Yon may have averted a murder conviction this week, but he has not been as fortunate in previous cases.He now faces the prospect of having to serve prison terms totalling about six years.Yon had been prosecuted over the fatal stabbing of the 22-year-old Pascalino Thiro at a Swakopmund nightclub, Club New Edition, on February 1 2003.Yon denied that he was guilty of murder.He claimed that he had acted in self-defence when he stabbed Thiro, who he claimed had attacked him first.Yon’s defence bore fruit on Monday, when Magistrate Myburgh accepted his self-defence plea.The Magistrate noted that the court had heard testimony that Yon had tried to walk away from a confrontation with Thiro, who in the court’s view had been the aggressor in the altercation that he had with Yon during the early morning hours of February 1 2003.The Magistrate further noted that Yon had claimed that Thiro had himself also been armed with a knife when he – according to Yon – attacked Yon and the latter stabbed him in the chest in self-defence.Magistrate Myburgh accepted this evidence.He remarked that Yon’s claim of having been under attack appeared to be corroborated by a cut that Yon had on his hand after the incident.Yon’s explanation was that this wound had been caused by the knife that Thiro had attacked him with.Yon may have averted a murder conviction this week, but he has not been as fortunate in previous cases.He now faces the prospect of having to serve prison terms totalling about six years.