An 87-year-old man shot his ex-partner in the face, threatened their daughter with a rifle and stabbed his son-in-law over a property dispute, an Adelaide jury has been told.
Nicolas Tsiplakis was motivated by anger at having been asked to sign over to Valentina Petrenko the house they bought 50 years ago, prosecutor Sally Giles said this .
“Incredibly, the bullet entered her mouth, went through her cheek and out the side of her head, just below her ear,” Ms Giles said in the crown opening address.
Almost certain death was avoided as the bullet just missed major blood vessels by between one and two millimetres.
Tsiplaxis has pleaded not guilty in the South Australian Supreme Court to the attempted murder of Ms Petrenko, 87.
He has also pleaded not guilty to aggravated charges of threatening to harm his daughter, Lydia Lyco, and intentionally causing harm to his son-in-law Edward Lyco.
Ms Giles said the events occurred on July 21, 2012, at the Alberton house purchased 50 years ago.
Tsiplakis had moved out more than 30 years ago, but he became angry when asked by the two women to transfer the title to Ms Petrenko, the prosecutor said.
After receiving transfer documents from a lawyer, Tsiplakis went to the home and demanded Ms Petrenko call their daughter to ask her to come over.
She refused and he walked towards the door before shooting Ms Petrenko in the face, Ms Giles said.
He then rang his daughter, telling her to come over, but did not mention the shooting.
When she arrived with her husband, Tsiplakis “walked to the lounge room where he picked up the rifle and aimed it at Ms Lyco”.
Mr Lyco grabbed the gun during a struggle, during which he was stabbed in the stomach by his father-in-law, Ms Giles said.
The prosecutor said it could not be argued that the shooting of Ms Petrenko was accidental.
“The accused’s intention when he went to the house with a loaded shotgun and shot her in the mouth was quite simply to kill her,”
she alleged.
The trial is continuing before Justice David Peek.