New details have emerged about a violent stabbing incident at a lavish poolside party in a wealthy Sydney neighborhood, as the attacker awaits sentencing. The shocking event unfolded during a night fueled by alcohol and cocaine.
Jesse William Ratcliff, aged 32, faces severe consequences after he stabbed a 28-year-old attendee ten times using a 30-centimeter kitchen knife. The attack inflicted serious injuries, including perforated bowels and a completely severed artery in the victim’s arm, which required urgent surgical intervention.
This Friday, Ratcliff is scheduled to be sentenced in the New South Wales District Court. He has been found guilty of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm during a brawl that erupted around 1:30 a.m. at a party held at a $4 million estate in North Turramurra, located in Sydney’s affluent upper north shore.
According to police documents acquired by the Daily Mail, the events of early Sunday, March 24 of the previous year, are now clearer. These accounts reveal the chaotic scene that police and paramedics encountered upon their arrival, with the area stained in blood.
The Saturday night gathering took place at a sprawling five-bedroom residence, owned by projects executive David Harper and his wife, Dianne. The event was attended by several young individuals, including their son, Matthew.
On the day of the incident, Harper, his partner Ainsley Keir, Austen Malanot, and Harper’s friend, Jesse Ratcliff, commenced their drinking session around 3 p.m. by the poolside. The group continued to indulge until 10 p.m., when Malanot invited Ayla Estacio to join the festivities.
Estacio brought along Lazarus Briggs, who had been attending the Wests Tigers match against Cronulla Sharks in an NRL clash at Leichhardt Oval that afternoon.
They arrived at North Turramurra at 10.48pm, with Briggs bringing a bottle of Japanese whisky.
The wild stabbing happened at the $4million family home of Matthew Harper (pictured)
Jesse William Ratcliff will be sentenced on Friday for stabbing partygoer Lazarus Briggs ten times, completely severing the artery in Briggs’ bicep
At 2.03am, police and paramedics arrived to find Briggs covered in a large amount of blood, and a bloodied knife at the bottom of the driveway
According to the police facts, he ‘appeared to be intoxicated before he arrived’ and he and Ratcliff ‘were consuming cocaine and other prohibited drugs throughout the evening’.
The facts state that as the party went on, it became clear that Briggs and Ratcliff ‘were not getting along’.
At 1.30am, Ratcliff and Estacio went into the kitchen to make an omelette ‘and shared the use of a kitchen knife to chop up the ingredients’.
When they returned to the table outside, an argument between Briggs and Ratcliff about the food broke out, with Briggs warning: ‘If you want to be rude like that again, we can have it out here or I’m going to slap you.’
Both men stood up at the table and Matthew Harper moved between them to defuse the situation, but Briggs reached around Harper and slapped Ratcliff ‘hard in the face’.
Harper told Briggs, ‘I think it’s time to go, mate’, which infuriated Briggs who fired insults back, later telling police he was ‘in a rage’.
When Harper again told Briggs to leave, Briggs replied: ‘Well, I’ll leave and I’m going to take your b***h with me then, c***.’
Harper understood to be a reference to his girlfriend and pointed to the gate, telling Briggs: ‘it’s time to leave now, c***. It’s time to f***ing leave.
‘Get the f*** out. Don’t speak to my girlfriend like that, you f***wit.’
Briggs then stepped forward and twice punched Harper to the right side of his face, causing a painful eye injury which blurred his vision.
At 1.30am, Ratcliff used a 30cm kitchen knife to chop up ingredients for an omelette, and when he returned to the table outside, an argument about the food broke out
Lazarus Briggs (above) was stabbed ten times with the main artery in his left bicep completely severed which put him at risk of losing his arm, doctors said
Harper then tried to usher Briggs out the gate and onto the driveway, until Briggs suddenly turned and began punching Harper repeatedly in the face.
Harper attempted to get away, but Briggs pressed him up against a car parked in the driveway and punched him three times and once more in the nose and eye.
According to the facts, Harper suffered bruising on his arms, a black eye, a cut to his lip, grazes across his legs and arms.
But at this point, Ratcliff rushed down the driveway holding a 30cm kitchen knife.
Ratcliff punched Briggs, who then tackled Ratcliff and they began to wrestle and throw punches until Briggs had Ratcliff in a headlock ‘and appeared to be overpowering him’, which ‘scared’ Ratcliff.
Harper tried to separate Ratcliff and Briggs unsuccessfully, then Ratcliff ‘repeatedly’ stabbed Briggs, who said: ‘What the f*** are you stabbing me with?’
Ratcliff stabbed Briggs ten times in the upper arm, hand, abdomen, thigh, chest and buttocks, causing him to feel ‘woozy’ before he blacked out.
One of the stab wounds sliced through Briggs’ left brachial artery, the major artery in a person’s arm, sending blood spurting onto the driveway.
About 1.57am, Keir called Triple-0 and Briggs told the operator: ‘I need help. I need someone to help me, I’m going to die.’
Police facts reveal Matthew Harper (above) was repeatedly punched in the face after an argument broke out and he asked a guest to leave
Keir screamed ‘what have you done’ at Ratcliff, who responded over and over, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry’ as he remained at the scene.
At 2.03am, police and paramedics arrived to find Briggs covered in blood, with more blood on the driveway and a bloodied knife at the bottom.
A large amount of blood had also pooled on the sandstone landscaping outside the Harper family home.
Harper and Briggs were treated at the scene before they were taken to Royal North Shore Hospital, with Briggs’ ambulance stopping en route so he could be given blood.
At Royal North Shore, he was immediately placed in the resuscitation bay.
Around 2.30am police arrested Ratcliff, who had sustained facial injuries, and he was taken to hospital under police guard before being charged at Chatswood Police Station with reckless wounding, wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and affray.
NSW Police originally said two men had been stabbed at the party. They would later drop charges against Ratcliff and indict him on a single charge of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm.
Doctors noted ten stab wounds and two lacerations on Briggs including a ’12cm full thickness wound’ to the stomach, 10cm and 6cm wounds to his abdomen and 8cm wounds to his left abdomen, left thigh and left buttock.
The five-bedroom family home at North Turramurra of health care professional Dianne Harper and projects executive David Harper where the stabbing occurred
A doctor found the extent of the injury to Briggs’ upper left arm ‘was limb threatening’, the court documents state.
According to police, Ratcliff ‘made full admissions’ but insisted Briggs ‘had been overly aggressive and volatile towards’ him.
Ratcliff claimed Briggs had ‘smacked’ him in the head, called him a ‘f***wit’, made a sexual advance towards his girlfriend.
According to court documents, Ratcliff had grabbed the kitchen knife and told Briggs: ‘You need to f***ing leave.’
Ratcliff told police he held the knife so that Briggs would not come at him, and he ‘had no intention of stabbing’ Briggs, although ‘he admitted he could have left it behind’.
Ratcliff only stabbed Briggs ‘while he was being attacked’ by him, say the court documents, but he admitted ‘he did not render any aid’ to his victim afterwards.
Ratcliff will be sentenced by Judge Craig Smith at Central District Court on Friday. The offence carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison.
