Farm worker John Yalu found not guilty of murdering Kalman Tal in circular saw amputation

A farm worker who amputated the leg of a Far North Queensland pensioner using a circular saw has been found not guilty of murder.

Kalman Tal, 66, paid banana picker John Yalu $5,000 cash to remove his leg at a public riverfront park in Innisfail in the early hours of February 19, 2022.

During a four-day trial, the Supreme Court in Cairns heard Mr Tal claimed to have suffered years of pain in his leg and had been offering locals cash for an amputation in the weeks leading up to his death.

Yalu pleaded guilty to manslaughter at the start of the trial on Monday but denied intending to cause Mr Tal grievous bodily harm.

The jury began deliberations late yesterday and returned a unanimous verdict after less than three hours of further deliberations this morning, finding Yalu guilty of manslaughter.

Yalu, a Vanuatu national, has been found guilty of manslaughter but not murder. (ABC News: Paula Broughton)

Yalu leaned into a microphone from the dock and said, “Thank you, too”, as jurors left the courtroom after delivering the verdict.

He is due to be sentenced for manslaughter on Monday. 

Trial centred on intent

The jury had to decide what Yalu’s intent was when he performed the fatal amputation at a public park along Fitzgerald Esplanade in Innisfail, about 90 kilometres south of Cairns.

Mr Tal called Yalu about 3am and said he was waiting for him with the tools to do the job, the court heard.

Pensioner offered cash for amputation weeks before death, court told

Witnesses have given evidence about how a 66-year-old shopped around for someone to amputate his leg in the weeks before he died at a public park.

Once Yalu arrived, they went together to the park where Mr Tal showed Yalu how to use the circular saw and instructed him to hammer metal stakes into the ground to hold the 66-year-old’s legs in place.

The jury was shown CCTV footage of the pair’s movements before and after the amputation, as well as during the three minutes it took Yalu to cut the leg at the ankle.

Mr Tal later hopped and crawled back to the passenger seat of his car, but the court heard that instead of driving Mr Tal to the hospital, Yalu walked away.

A Bislama interpreter helped Yalu follow the evidence and submissions at trial. (ABC News: Paula Broughton)

The Vanuatu national told police after his arrest the same day, that he panicked when he realised Mr Tal was dying.

A passer-by, Richard David, found Mr Tal in the gutter with a phone connected to Triple Zero (000) about 10 minutes after Yalu left.

Despite the best efforts of emergency services, Mr Tal was declared dead at 4:30am.

Kalman Tal’s leg was amputated in this Innisfail park. (Supplied: Google Street View)

Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald told the court Yalu was guilty of murder as his intent was to remove a distinct part of Mr Tal’s body, an act which constituted grievous bodily harm.

Defence barrister Jacob Kantor argued Yalu’s intention was to help an older man who had been pleading and “pressuring” him to help alleviate chronic pain that doctors had been unable to treat.

Nicole Friedewald argued Yalu was guilty of murder because removing Mr Tal’s foot was grievous bodily harm. (ABC News: Conor Byrne)

‘Innate sense of fairness’

The verdict was delivered after Justice James Henry told jurors they were entitled to use their “innate sense of fairness and justice on behalf of the community”.

Justice Henry gave that direction in response to a question from a juror who asked for guidance about an earlier direction for the jury to apply common sense in its deliberations.

“If we apply the law and the guidelines to our case, I must find [Yalu] guilty of murder,” the juror’s question, read to the court, said.

“My common sense tells me that is incorrect and very unjust.”

Jacob Kantor argued Yalu’s intention was to help an older man who doctors had been unable to treat. (ABC News: Conor Byrne)

Addressing the jury, Justice Henry quoted former South Australian Supreme Court chief justice Len King, who said juries often applied “their innate sense of fairness and justice in place of the strict principles of law”.

“Sometimes it appears to a jury that although the more serious charge may be technically proved, justice may be met by convicting him of the less serious charge,” Justice Henry told the court.

Justice Henry told the jury its sworn role was to “conscientiously try the charges and decide them on the evidence”.

Farm worker panicked after amputating leg

A jury hears a recording of John Yalu explaining to police that he panicked after he amputated the leg of a 66-year-old man he then realised was dying.

“However, in fulfilling that role on behalf of the community, you are entitled to employ your innate sense of fairness and justice on behalf of the community.”

The juror who wrote the note had also revealed to the court bailiff early in deliberations that he had printed two pages of material from the internet about legal concepts, including “proving intent”.

Neither side applied for a mistrial and Justice Henry allowed deliberations to continue, saying the offending printouts “don’t particularly say anything highly concerning”.

Had Yalu been convicted of murder, he would have faced a mandatory life sentence with a minimum non-parole period of 20 years.