A man accused of killing his wife in the bedroom of their Gordon home stabbed her 57 times as she breastfed their 10-month-old baby, prosecutors say.
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Maged Mohommed Ahmed Al-Harazi, 36, has maintained his innocence after he was charged with murder after the body of Sabah Al-Mdwali, 28, was found on a bed inside the Knoke Avenue house in March 2015.
Al-Harazi pleaded not guilty. His six-week ACT Supreme Court trial began on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Shane Drumgold said in his opening address there was no dispute Ms Al-Mdwali had been murdered and the trial would revolve around whether Al-Harazi was the person who inflicted the fatal stab wounds.
Al-Harazi had told police Ms Al-Mdwali's father and teenage brother had killed her, saying they showed up at the house and asked him to take the couple's three children - then aged seven, five and 10 months - for a drive about 11.35pm on March 16.
When Al-Harazi returned home, he said, the two men had left, his wife was dead and he didn't know what had happened.
He said he drove straight to Tuggeranong police station with the children but, for an unexplained reason, did not arrive until about 3am.
The jury would hear al-Harazi banged on the station's staff entrance door as he yelled, "My wife, my wife," and made stabbing motions on his chest.
Police then drove to the pair's house as the accused followed behind them and found Ms Al-Mdwali's bloodied body.
Her father and brother were arrested but released without charge after evidence, including CCTV footage and mobile phone data, indicated the two men were not near the couple's house that night, Mr Drumgold said.
The court was told the couple married in Yemen in 2005 and moved to Australia with Ms Al-Mdwali's family two years later.
Their relationship was "turbulent" and the question of returning to their place of birth was a source of ongoing tension between the pair.
"The evidence will be the accused did not like living in Australia and quite desperately wanted to return to Yemen," Mr Drumgold said.
The pair separated briefly but later reconciled after Al-Harazi and Ms Al-Mdwali's father signed an agreement, relating to the marriage, put together with members of the Arabic community.
Mr Drumgold said Al-Harazi had started work at a kebab shop but was told he'd lost his job the day of the alleged killing.
His wife sent him a text message in Arabic about 5pm that read: "Oh you are my beloved supporter, husband and father of my children. Look after yourself, your work is not something to worry about."
He returned home and the couple went shopping at Aldi before they visited Ms Al-Mdwali's sister.
"The Crown says on the evening of March 16, 2015, the accused was in a difficult position," Mr Drumgold said.
"He no longer had a job, which meant he couldn't comply with terms of the agreement signed in February, and he desperately wanted to return to Yemen."
Mr Drumgold said the pair had a heated argument in Arabic that lasted several hours and was heard by neighbours when they returned home that night.
He said police alleged al-Harazi stabbed his wife multiple times as she breastfed their baby on the bed about 2am.
Defence barrister Ken Archer said his client, who was helped by an Arabic interpreter, would later give his version of events and urged jurors to reserve judgement until the evidence had unfolded.
"He will say to you he had no motive to kill his wife. If he chose to return to Yemen that was a matter for him.
"He will tell you he was not responsible, neither did he have a hand in the murder of his wife on that particular night, or that particular morning."
The trial continues before Justice Richard Refshauge on Wednesday.
