R v Lardner (No 9) [2026] NSWSC 971

R v Lardner (No 9) [2026] NSWSC 971. In a judge-alone trial, Lardner admitted stabbing David Vale twice during a confrontation arising from Vale’s grievance over a drug supply. The central issue was self-defence: whether Lardner believed the stabbing was necessary and whether his response was reasonable in the circumstances as he perceived them. Campbell J found an intention to inflict really serious bodily injury, but the Crown had not excluded the reasonable possibility that the knife fell from Vale or that Lardner believed defensive action was necessary. Because following and stabbing Vale twice was objectively excessive, Lardner was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter by excessive self-defence.