Families hit by ‘ perfect storm’
THE “million- dollar question” in the bizarre double stabbing deaths was how a boozy NRL Grand Final party ended so tragically.
Acting Senior Sergeant Craig Hosie, the officer- incharge of Ayr police station, said four families’ lives had been “turned totally inside out’’ in a series of events that built into a perfect storm.
Father- of- three Corey Christensen, 37, and Tom Davy, 27, died from stab wounds and massive blood loss on a street outside a home in Alva Beach, near Ayr, just after midnight on Monday morning.
“There is no evidence it was drug related, the only thing muddying the water is that a lot of alcohol had been consumed, that afternoon and into the night,” Sen- Sgt Hosie said.
“This has saddened a big part of the community, and it has had a devastating effect on people who are well known and highly regarded across the Burdekin district.”
Police are investigating if resident Dean Webber, 19, acted in self defence when he armed himself with a knife as the two men barged into the house trying to calm a distraught, injured Candice Locke, 29.
On Sunday, dozens of people had gathered on a vacant block next to the Ayr Surf Club for a grand final party.
Ms Locke, who was in a relationship with Mr Davy, dislo- cated her shoulder in what was understood to be a quad bike accident.
In pain and crying for help, she ran off and banged on the door of local apprentice fitter Mr Webber, who was home alone. Mr Webber let her in and called an ambulance for Ms Locke, but moments later the two men turned up at his front door.
Police are still trying to piece together the ill- fated final moments as the two men confronted the teenager.
Both men suffered critical stab wounds and Mr Webber was gashed on his leg by a knife. Police and paramedics turned up to find Mr Davy and Mr Christensen lying in pools of their own blood outside the Topton St home.
Ms Locke was treated by ambulance officers but it was not until she arrived at Townsville Hospital that she was made aware her boyfriend Mr Davy and Mr Christensen had died.
The former RSPCA Townsville worker has been “inconsolable” and “deeply distressed” as she recovers in hospital from surgery to her shoulder.
Sen- Sgt Hosie said there was still a massive grey area.
“When you’ve got the whole community of Alva Beach at the grand final afterparty, there’s a lot of witnesses to go through, and a lot of people who saw different things,” he said.
“Dean was sitting at home alone, and then this chaotic situation unfolds in the dark of night on his doorstep. He’s only a slip of a young man, two years out of school, with not much life experience and he’s dealing with a distressed, injured woman at his front door, and then in come two much bigger men.
“We’re not pointing fingers, there’s no black and white, we’re dealing in a grey area, where people are highly affected by alcohol, and we are trying to sift through the mud to find out the truth.
“Corey’s wife Jaye now doesn’t have husband, she now faces life as a single mum, bringing up her three little boys alone, who are asking “Where’s Daddy? Where’s Dad?
“She will have to relive those awful emotions every day of her life, as she works toward some explanation.”
Lead investigator Detective Inspector Chris Lawson said it was an “extraordinary set of circumstances” that ended in tragedy.
“It’s a case of the kind I’ve never come across before, and hopefully will never deal with again,’’ he said.
“We’re waiting for forensics to make sure they link up what we’ve been told.
“We still have to sit down and go through all the evidence and make sure all the evidence is lined up before we make a decision either way.
“But it’s likely no criminal charges will be laid and this will end up in the Coroner’s Court.”