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An accused murderer says he can't remember how many times he swung an axe at his wife, blaming his memory loss on the fear he was experiencing.
Warning: This story contains graphic details.
Dinush Kurera said he was acting in self-defence when he killed his estranged wife Nelomie Perera on December 3, 2022, at her house in Sandhurst, in Melbourne's south-east.
After the incident, Mr Kurera walked away unharmed, while Ms Perera died on the kitchen floor after sustaining 35 injuries to her head, face, neck, arms and abdomen.
The couple's teenage daughter claimed her father overpowered Ms Perera and repeatedly used a knife and an axe to attack her while she was on the floor.
However Mr Kurera's memory of the incident was vastly different, and he told the Supeme Court on Friday that he recalled swinging the axe twice after his wife had come at him with a kitchen knife.
"I was so scared. I can't remember any of that," he said.
Crown Prosecutor Mark Gibson said Mr Kurera had actually hit his wife "at least two dozen times", saying a "sustained, brutal and vicious attack" had taken place.
During a tense exchange, Mr Kurera repeatedly said he could not remember what unfolded immediately after he struck the first two blows.
"That's a convenient answer so that you don't have to say what you did and how you did it," Mr Gibson said.
"No I can't remember any of that," Mr Kurera replied.
Mr Kurera also denied hitting his son in the head with the axe, with his legal defence team arguing the teenager's injuries were caused when he fell over trying to escape the chaotic scene.
Mr Kurera's phone calls monitored
When police arrived at the scene, Mr Kurera told an officer, "The bitch kicked me out of my own home. I'm living in the f***ing car. What else do you want me to do?".
However on Friday he rejected suggestions those comments were a reference to committing murder.
Nelomie Perera was allegedly killed by her estranged husband Dinush Kurera in late 2022. (Facebook)
The court heard Mr Kurera's phone calls were being monitored after he was charged with murder.
In a call translated into English from Sinhalese, Mr Kurera said to a friend he "did not expect her to die".
"What a c***. I did not want to kill that whore. I only wanted to see my children," he said.
Mr Kurera denies claims he ambushed wife
On the night of the incident, Mr Kurera admitted breaking into the property, in breach of an intervention order, while dressed in black, and carrying an axe, jimmy bar and a can of fuel.
He said he removed a backyard fence paling around 11.25pm and wanted to go inside to collect some medication, see his children and fill up the tank of a Ducati motorcycle.
Dinush Kurera has pleaded not guilty to murdering his estranged wife, Nelomie Perera in late 2022. (Facebook)
Mr Kurera denied prosecutors' claims that he ambushed his wife and hit her with the axe as she stood outside, before continuing an unprovoked attack inside the house.
The trial heard the couple's marriage had been marred by domestic violence and claims of infidelity, and Ms Perera had taken out an intervention order against Mr Kurera while he was on a trip to Sri Lanka.
"I want a divorce. I am not going to live my life afraid of you anymore," Ms Perera wrote to Mr Kurera in a message shown to the court.
On the night of the killing, Mr Kurera denied flying into a rage and attacking Ms Perera after hearing she was seeing other men.
"We were separated so it didn't really matter if she's sleeping with another person or 10 people. At that time I had given up on her," he said.
Friday's hearing was brought to an abrupt halt by fire alarms which forced the Supreme Court to be evacuated.
The trial, which has run for four weeks, will resume on Monday.