It's just like that story of the blind leading the blind, except one guy was deaf, and instead of being led he had his throat slashed.

Trouble had been brewing for some time at Brisbane, Australia's Aid for the Blind Complex. George Gerard Goeldner, who's 90 per cent blind, was at wit's end with fellow complex resident Francis John Butcher, who was stone-deaf. Goeldner complained regularly about how loud Butcher turned up his radio and television. Butcher was given headphones, but found them uncomfortable to wear.

The final straw for Goeldner came when he overheard Butcher telling the staff that he planned on having a good weekend. Goeldner assumed "good" meant more noise to endure, and rushed Butcher with a kitchen knife.

Goeldner insists he meant no harm, arguing that the deaf man's throat was slashed when Butcher lost his grip on the crutches he used to help him walk with his prosthetic leg.

Goeldner was sentenced to eight years for manslaughter.

» Scott Saxon