Boy's tree-felling death 'shattering'

November 11, 2022 12:46 AM GMT | By AAPNEWS
Image source: AAPNEWS

The father of a "sweet and gentle" seven-year-old boy killed in a tree-felling incident in Tasmania says he feels like he is missing a piece of his soul.

Akira Carroll was struck on the head by a tree while on a firewood gathering trip with family at Mt Lloyd in the state's south in 2015.

Joshua George Hector Clark, the then-partner of Akira's mother Sierra Lynd, was in September found guilty by a jury of manslaughter.

The court was previously told Clark yelled "get the f*** out of the car" moments before the tree he was chopping fell on a ute in which Ms Lynd, Akira and her two other children were sitting.

Ms Lynd managed to grab her toddler and get out of the car, as did Akira, who later died in hospital.

Akira's father Brett Carroll on Friday fought back tears describing the "unbearable loss".

"What I would give to see the young man he would be," he told the Supreme Court of Tasmania in Hobart.

"Akira was a sweet and gentle soul.

"I lost my son ... I feel robbed, hopeless, like a piece of my soul is missing. My son will never have the chance to grow up and be all that he could be."

Clark, who is expected to be sentenced on Thursday, also cried as victim impact statements were read to the court.

Ms Lynd described Akira as her first true love and said she was unable to shower or enter her kids' bedrooms after his death.

"Not only did I lose the sweetest, caring boy, I lost my way in life. My heart shattered into a million pieces," she said in a statement read to the court by the prosecution lawyer.

She said one of Akira's siblings demanded to wear a helmet for months afterwards because he was afraid of things falling.

Clark was accused of failing to take reasonable precautions when using a chainsaw to fell a tree.

The court was previously told he had parked the ute in the "drop zone", failed to cut a wedge in the tree and had no control over which way it fell.

Clark's lawyer, Kim Baumeler, said he had lifelong scars from an abusive childhood and the bush had become a place of refuge.

She said he was generally very safe when wood-hooking and described the incident as an aberration.

Ms Baumeler said Clark's daughter died two years ago with significant medical issues and he was finding it difficult to access medication in prison for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Speaking outside court, Mr Carroll said he wanted legal proceedings to be over and done with.

"I just want justice, we've got the guilty verdict. When the sentencing is done, I'm hoping it will be a bit of closure," he said.


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