Groom-to-be Bernard John Robbins stabbed his brother to death three days before wedding

A groom-to-be stabbed his brother to death in a ‘fit of rage’ days before he was due to get married, a court has heard.

Bernard John Robbins is charged with murdering Gregory Robbins at a home in Buderim on the Sunshine Coast in 2019.

Three days later 59-year-old Bernard Robbins was due to get married.

His brother had arrived in Queensland from Perth on June 12 to attend the wedding.

He didn’t even get to unpack his bag before the 61-year-old was stabbed seven times in a ‘crime of passion’, dying in hospital in the early hours of the next morning, the Brisbane Supreme Court was told on Tuesday.

The men had been drinking on the patio of the house pensioner Bernard Robbins shared with the woman he was due to marry, Sally Doring.

Bernard John Robbins is charged with murdering Gregory Robbins (pictured) at a home in Buderim on the Sunshine Coast in 2019

They talked about general matters before ‘bickering over stupid things’, the trial is expected to hear, prosecutor Christopher Cook said in his opening.

But things escalated with Bernard Robbins becoming enraged due to an argument with his brother ‘about family matters’ and perhaps suggestions from his bride-to-be that the wedding may not go ahead.

Bernard Robbins’ daughter and both men’s partners were in the unit at the time.

Mr Cook said the women are expected to tell the jury they separated the men once, but Bernard soon became angry again, slamming a door and throwing something at Gregory across a table.

‘I expect you’ll hear from multiple people that there was… some jeopardy put on the wedding,’ he said.

Bernard Robbins then told his brother to leave, saying his bags were on the driveway.

Gregory Robbins and his partner were walking out the garage when the older man was stabbed about 10pm.

‘In a fit of rage Bernard Robbins stabbed his own brother Gregory and killed him,’ Mr Cook told the jury.

In an audio recording of a triple-zero call Bernard’s daughter Annie Robbins is heard shouting ‘stop it, stop it, stop it’.

The home old the Sunshine Coast where the stabbed allegedly occurred after the argument

Mr Cook said Gregory Robbins suffered four stab wounds, eight to 12cm deep, close to his heart.

He was also stabbed twice in the back.

‘This is a crime of passion,’ Mr Cook said.

He said no one saw Bernard Robbins get the knives, but a chef’s paring knife and a white handled-knife with a long blade were found on the garage floor.

Bernard Robbins told police ‘it has just been the usual family f**king s**t,’ according to footage from an officer’s bodycam.

Police later estimated Bernard Robbins had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.182 at the time of the stabbing, while his brother’s BAC level was 0.217.

The trial, set down for five days, is expected to hear from the three women who were in the house at the time, neighbours and police.