An emotional Liam Jurrah celebrates after a jury found him not guilty of seriously harming his cousni during a wild brawl at a town camp just outside Alice Springs. Picture: Chloe Geraghty Source: Northern Territory News
FORMER Melbourne forward Liam Jurrah says he dreams of returning to the AFL after he was today found not guilty of assaulting his cousin with a machete during a brawl near Alice Springs last year.
Jubilant scenes erupted outside the Northern Territory Supreme Court in Alice Springs as the jury returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty to a charge of unlawfully causing serious harm to his cousin Basil Jurrah at the Little Sisters town camp in March last year.
The jury's verdict - after almost eight hours of deliberation over two days - prompted emotional scenes as family and friends flocked around the former Melbourne star as he walked from court a free man.
A clearly-relieved Jurrah said it remained his "dream" to return to elite football, after he was delisted by Melbourne last year.
"Yes, that is my dream ... it's very important to make my family happy again," Jurrah said.
Liam Jurrah and supporter celebrate his not guilty verdict outside Alice Springs court. Picture: Chloe Geraghty
"I'll probably be heading back to Adelaide now to see where I'm at ... I'm feeling pretty happy right now."
Jurrah said he was confident the jury would acquit him of the charge in a trial that stretched through almost nine days of evidence, summing up and jury deliberation.
He said he was going to "lay low and enjoy the rest of my day with my family", adding that he hoped the feud that led to the brawl last year would now be finished.
Jurrah's lawyer Jon Tippett QC applauded the not-guilty verdict.
Liam Jurrah celebrates the jury's not-guilty verdict outside Alice Springs court. Picture: Chloe Geraghty
"We said he was not guilty in the beginning and this jury has spent a long time examining the evidence and concluded that's right - he's not guilty," Mr Tippett said.
"They had a fair bit of evidence and material to go through ... so they were a conscientous group of people and as the judge said, they did the community proud, they did themselves proud and we know the system works well."
Mr Tippett said the 24-year-old, who was the first initiated Aboriginal man to play AFL, had gone through an extremely tough year since the charges were laid against him.
"I just admire him ... he is as tough as nails but inside, it's a different story," Mr Tippett said.
Liam Jurrah at Port Adelaide pre-season training. Picture: Sarah Reed.
"It's been extraordinarily tough ... this young man has had a hell of a lot riding on his shoulders and this is just the culmination of a lot of it, it's the sort of stuff that I wouldn't want to happen to me.
"It's cross-cultural, and we have a hell of a lot of expectations of him, his Aboriginal community and family have great expectations of him, and we have put a lot on his plate."
Mr Tippett said he hoped Jurrah could rekindle his AFL career.
"I would love to see him (play again) - I've seen him play and he is pure magic, he is an extraordinary athlete.
"He's an honest man, the one thing in this case is that he told the police what happened. Ultimately the jury had regard for that because he was the only person who described his circumstances as opposed to five witnesses who said he'd done it ...
"His integrity must have played heavily on the jury's mind, he is a person of integrity and when you speak to him you feel that and he is the sort of person who will lead his community, he's just got a lot of weight on his shoulders."
The former Demons forward admitted he was present at the fight between two feuding family groups but claimed he was trying to stop the violence and took no part in the attack upon his 37-year old cousin, who suffered serious head injuries including a fractured skull.
Jurrah was facing a maximum penalty of 14 years' prison if convicted of the assault, however the jury was unanimous in its decision to acquit him of the charge.
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