Wife recalls night she was widowed
THE widow of a man fatally stabbed at Alva Beach has relived the night leading up to her husband’s death, saying she was woken by her husband’s lifelong friend repeating “Corey’s been stabbed”.
Jaye Christensen, the wife of Corey Christensen, kept her composure as she recounted the final hours before her husband’s death at the inquest in Cairns Magistrates Court yesterday.
Ms Christensen, who married Corey in 2015, said their small community was holding a “street party” to watch the NRL grand final on a spare block opposite their Alva
Beach home the night he was stabbed.
Multiple people attended, including two people she did not know whom her husband and his friend, Louis Bengoa, had met on the beach that afternoon while riding Mr Bengoa’s buggy.
Those two people were Candice Locke and Thomas Davy.
THE PARTY
The pair arrived at the block about 6pm, with Ms Christensen saying Ms Locke appeared to be drunk.
Ms Christensen said she observed Ms Locke making her way around the group, and she appeared to be flirting with some of the men, including her husband.
“Candice was getting quite loud and moving around and sort of kept moving towards Corey … (Corey) took note I wasn’t liking that and he came and sat next to me,” she said.
A neighbour, Michelle Kelly, who was also at the party, said Ms Locke was “enjoying the company”.
Ms Christensen said she observed Mr Davy tap Ms Locke on the elbow, assuming he was prompting her they should leave after she became more “vulgar” and intoxicated.
Ms Christensen said Ms Locke started swearing at Mr Davy, and he took off in his car.
About 10pm, Ms Christensen went home and last saw Ms Locke sitting in a gutter near a neighbour’s home.
Ms Kelly and another neighbour, Ann Phelan, went over to Ms Locke, who they both said was crying, and offered her a place to stay but she declined.
THE BUGGY RIDE
About 11pm, Ms Phelan said Mr Bengoa and Ms Locke got on his buggy to go for a ride, but he returned 30 minutes later without her.
She said while giving evidence yesterday that someone asked Mr Bengoa where “the girl” was, but he did not answer.
Ms Phelan said he walked over to Corey Christensen and spoke quietly, before the pair got on the buggy and took off.
In her police statement, Ms Phelan said she saw the buggy about 30 minutes later with three people on board, and she discussed with a group of women at the party that a person wearing white could have been Ms Locke.
After cross-examination by Mr Webber’s barrister, Harvey Walters, she said she didn’t know who the third person was.
Ms Phelan said she went home about midnight, and heard a buggy come back to the block before she went to bed.
THE DEATH KNOCK
Ms Christensen was woken about 3am by Mr Bengoa, who kept repeating “Corey’s been stabbed”. He was flanked by two police officers who said her husband had been killed.
Ms Christensen then spent about 12 hours without another visit from police, and at that time had no idea what really happened to her husband.
She said Ayr CIB Detective Sergeant Gavin Neal visited her home about 3pm that day after her friends went down to the crime scene and asked when she would know more information.
Ms Christensen said Sergeant Neal told her Corey Christensen had been fatally stabbed after breaking into a home. She said he told her Ms Locke had been pushed off Mr Bengoa’s buggy and ran into Dean Webber’s home, which is where her husband was stabbed by Mr Webber.
Sergeant Neal visited her again the following day, saying Mr Webber had not been charged. “(He said) it was clearly obvious that it was selfdefence,” Ms Christensen said.
“I recall him saying that if it were him, he would have done the same thing.”
Ms Christensen said she had to face Mr Webber all the time, saying she saw him most weekends: “Just had to live with the fact we are in a small vicinity … it’s been hard.”