Guilty verdict for abortion clinic killer

Abortion clinics have been targeted in the past

By Dominic Hughes In Sydney

An Australian man has been found guilty of murdering a security guard at a Melbourne abortion clinic - the first such attack in Australia.

The five-day trial of Peter James Knight - described by the prosecution as an obsessed anti-abortion protester - at times descended into farce.

Conducting his own defence, the 48-year-old sometimes addressed the court in a shrill scream.

Knight refused to confirm his name, age or last address and for two months after his arrest he was known simply as "Mr X".

Court outburst

He faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and is expected to be sentenced on Wednesday by the Supreme Court.

He claimed the shooting of Steven Rogers, the security guard at the East Melbourne clinic, was an accident.

But the prosecution said that when he walked into the clinic on 16 July last year he had planned a massacre of staff and patients.

As well as 14 rounds of ammunition, he was equipped with 16 litres of kerosene, three cigarette lighters and gags for the mouths of his victims.

When challenged by Mr Rogers, Knight shot him before being wrestled to the ground by two bystanders.

On being found guilty, Knight shouted at the court "you will be made to pay the penalty".