A teenage girl accused of killing her mother and seriously wounding her father has been committed to stand trial for murder.
Kaihana Tahseen Hussain, now 18, is alleged to have stabbed her mother Shaheda and father Muhammed during an incident at their Gold Coast unit in October 2006.
Magistrate Ron Kilner today committed her to stand trial on one count each of murder and attempted murder, but expressed reservations about the strength of the case against her, particularly the evidence of her father.
"The prosecution case has many weaknesses, not least of which is the evidence of Dr Hussain himself, but it is not so devoid of evidence that there is no case," Mr Kilner told the court.
Dr Hussain earlier told the committal hearing his daughter blindfolded him and his wife on the night of the incident, promising them a "surprise" before producing the knife and stabbing them.
However, neighbours reported hearing angry shouting, predominately from a male voice, in the lead up to the incident and forensic testing of the murder weapon found only Dr Hussain's DNA on the handle.
Mr Kilner conceded both father and daughter had a motive to commit the crime, which came after a long-running dispute over her religion and her boyfriend Ben.
The court was told Kaihana had threatened to convert from Islam to Christianity and had previously run away to Sydney to be with Ben.
Defence solicitor Dennis Lynch had argued his client's threat to convert would bring shame upon Dr Hussain and the court heard evidence he had threatened to kill himself and his daughter if she did so.
Mr Kilner also expressed concerns about the way Dr Hussain's statement was acquired by police.
The court was told Dr Hussain refused to speak to police until he was given written assurances he was not a suspect and that his evidence could not be used against him.
Officers also provided him with a list of questions before he made his statement.
"Being given a list of questions in advance provided him an opportunity to ensure that his evidence was consistent, something no doubt a jury would take into account when assessing his evidence," he said.
However, Mr Kilner also pointed to evidence from two medical experts that it was highly unlikely Dr Hussain could have inflicted the injury he sustained in the incident upon himself.
Kaihana was remanded in custody to face trial in the Supreme Court at a later date.
