Citation: R v Lardner (No 9) [2026] NSWSC 971
Court: Supreme Court of New South Wales
Date: 13 August 2026
Judge: Campbell J
Background
The accused was charged with the murder of a man who was, in practical terms, his brother, both having been raised together in the same household despite being biological cousins. The deceased had attended the accused's address earlier on the day in question, apparently harbouring a grievance relating to a drug purchase. That evening, the deceased arrived at another address where the accused was present, and a physical confrontation followed.
The fight moved in and out of view of a nearby CCTV camera, and the accused ultimately stabbed the deceased twice with a knife. One wound proved fatal, penetrating the deceased's lung and heart. The deceased drove himself to a relative's home but collapsed and could not be revived. The accused left the scene shortly afterwards, assisted by two other women present at the location.
The central factual questions were not who stabbed whom, but rather the precise circumstances of the stabbing, including who brought the knife and whether the accused acted in self-defence.
Legal Issues
- Whether the accused was guilty of murder, or whether the defence of self-defence applied
- Whether the accused's use of lethal force was a necessary and reasonable response to the threat he faced (the second limb of self-defence under the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW))
- Whether, if full self-defence failed, the accused was guilty of manslaughter by excessive self-defence
Decision
Issue 1: Self-defence generally
Campbell J accepted that a fight broke out and that there was no direct eyewitness evidence of the confrontation beyond the accused's own account. Applying the Liberato direction (the rule that the accused's account must be considered alongside the Crown case, and cannot simply be disbelieved without more), the judge assessed the accused's version carefully. The civilian witnesses were largely uncooperative and gave unsatisfactory evidence, leaving the Crown's case substantially dependent on inferences.
Issue 2: Reasonableness and proportionality of the force used
The judge found that the knife had not been brought to the scene by either party in anticipation of violence, but rather fell to the ground during the fight. Critically, the deceased had possession of the knife at one point and was retreating, yet chose not to use it against the accused at any stage. The accused then retrieved the knife and stabbed the deceased twice. Campbell J found that up until the knife fell, the confrontation had involved only punches and strikes, and that nothing in the deceased's conduct suggested he would have deployed the knife had he retained it.
The judge rejected the accused's reasoning that he had stabbed the deceased out of fear for his own life, finding instead that the accused had followed the retreating deceased and used maximum force without attempting any lesser response. The accused's stated motivation, being "pretty pissed off," did not reflect reasonableness or proportionality. The Crown had negatived the second limb of self-defence beyond reasonable doubt.
Issue 3: Verdict
Because full self-defence failed on the second limb, the accused could not be acquitted of murder. However, the same findings meant the accused acted in excessive self-defence, which under New South Wales law reduces the offence from murder to manslaughter. The judge returned a verdict of not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter.
Orders Made
- Conrad Lardner found not guilty of murder
- Conrad Lardner found guilty of manslaughter
Key Takeaways
- Where a defendant retrieves a weapon that falls during a fist fight and uses it to stab a retreating victim without attempting lesser force, the Supreme Court held this fell outside the bounds of reasonable and proportionate self-defence.
- A finding that the Crown has negatived the second limb of self-defence (that the force was reasonably necessary) does not automatically result in a murder conviction; under the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), it produces a verdict of manslaughter by excessive self-defence.
- The court applied the Liberato direction in a judge-alone trial, treating it as a binding legal direction on itself rather than a jury instruction, demonstrating its continued relevance in non-jury proceedings.
- Largely uncooperative civilian witnesses and a Crown case built substantially on inference did not prevent conviction where the accused's own evidence, carefully assessed, undermined the self-defence claim.
- The deceased's choice not to use a knife he possessed during the confrontation, while retreating, was treated as significant evidence against the accused's claim that lethal force was necessary to prevent serious harm to himself.
Legislation and Cases Referenced
Legislation
- Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)
- Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW), ss 132, 132A, 133
- Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), s 195
Cases
- R v Lardner ( No 8) [2026] NSWSC 934