Jurors fail to reach verdict in Walsall attempted murder case
Jurors deliberating in the case of an attempted murder suspect who 'sliced' his brother with a pink handled blade have been discharged.
The five men and seven women acquitted Gareth Cable of having an article with a blade or a point – a Stanley knife - but failed to reach a verdict on attempted murder.
He was accused of pulling out the pink handled knife during an argument and then trying to kill his brother James Cable during the 'frenzied' attack at their sister's Walsall home.
The 41-year-old, who denied the offences when he took the stand, must now wait a week to discover if the Crown Prosecution Service will pursue a retrial.
The jury were discharged on Thursday after deliberating for 8 hours' and 15 minutes at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
During the three-day trial, the prosecution alleged Gareth Cable attacked his brother in the hallway of their sister's home on the Yew Tree Estate.
Two police officers were present when he brandished the knife, pushing his brother into the hall and jabbing him to the face with it as he lay on the floor, prosecutor Mr Dean Kershaw said.
The defendant plunged the blade deep through his brother’s hand and slashed him across his face at the Birchfield Way property on February 23, the court heard.
But giving evidence during his trial, Gareth James claimed he was not trying to kill his brother when he slashed his face and body, revealing he only wanted to 'hurt him'.
He alleged the pink handled knife he used to deliver the blows was not his and said he spotted it in the waistband of James Cables' Adidas tracksuit bottoms.
The defendant said he went outside as police arrived to the disturbance and grabbed the blade from the 26-year-old before they wrestled and he stabbed his brother.
He went on to say he had picked up a black handled knife from the kitchen after fearing for his safety when James Cable started banging on the front door and threatening he would shoot their sister.
Gareth Cable, who was a self-employed graphic designer at the time, said he forgot a Stanley knife he used at his West Bromwich workplace was still in his pocket when he arrived at the property.
Jurors were told he had previously admitted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, as well as having the black handled knife and the pink handled knife.
The defendant, of Norton Crescent, Bordesley Green, Birmingham, will be sentenced at the court next Friday if the Crown Prosecution Service do not pursue a retrial.
