After a seven-week trial, the
Lam sisters were acquitted
after the jury found them not guilty of first degree murder on Sunday evening.
Chau Khan Lam and her sister, Hue Ai Lam, were charged with first degree murder in relation to the death of their mother, Kieu Lam, in October 2022.
The sisters pleaded not guilty, saying they killed their mother after
suffering from years of verbal and physical abuse
.
In their closing submissions, defence lawyers Ewan Lyttle and Paolo Giancaterino
argued that the sisters were acting in self-defence
. They also argued the sisters did not have a lot of options to leave the abuse because of cultural expectations.
Crown lawyer Julian Whitten argued in his closing submission that killing was an unreasonable and disproportionate response to the abuse they suffered from. He also said there was little evidence confirming that Hue was subjected to assault and the severity of those assaults.
More to come …
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