Man pleads guilty to lesser charge on first day of attempted murder trial
Zachery Norton pleaded guilty to recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm instead of facing a weeks-long attempted murder trial in the ACT Supreme Court.
On Thursday, October 8, Zachery Norton was set to face jury trial over a machete attack that severed three fingers from another man's hand. Zachery Norton, 32, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm, citing excessive self-defence.
The attack occurred in September 2024 at a home in Wanniassa. Norton used a 25-inch machete and caused injuries that left the victim in an induced coma for four days.
Surgeons were able to reattach his fingers. The Crown accepted the guilty plea and withdrew the attempted murder charge.
A jury had been empanelled the day before, but Justice Jon White discharged them. Norton, arrested more than two months after the attack, had been remanded in custody.
- Zachery Norton, 32
- Defendant and age
- September 2024, Wanniassa home
- Attack date and place
Why it mattersThe plea ends a planned weeks-long trial and withdraws the attempted murder charge; his defence of excessive self-protection was accepted by prosecutors.
AustraliaACT court case avoids weeks of jury trial; sentencing will follow on the grievous bodily harm conviction.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 1 h ago
Open this story in InSnip →
