Witnesses to a ‘brawl’
Murder trial told group ‘laying into’ one man
A group of men were seen fighting in an “all-in brawl” the night a man was allegedly fatally stabbed in Surfers Paradise, a court has been told.
Three men are facing trial in Brisbane Supreme Court, charged with the murder of Raymond Harris on the evening of September 23, 2020.
It is alleged Jye Sebastian Webb-italia delivered the fatal injury outside Surfers Paradise Beer Garden on Cavill Ave, with the jury previously told the wound cut through Mr Harris’s liver and stomach.
Mr Webb-italia, 22, entered a guilty plea to manslaughter on the first day of the trial, but the prosecution would not accept his plea to the lesser charge. His co-accused Kyle Jack Webb, 28, and Jarod James Miller, 25, are charged with murder on the basis they allegedly “aided and encouraged” Mr Webb-italia to fatally stab Mr Harris.
Several people who saw parts of the alleged confrontation unfold from the street or nearby vehicles gave evidence on Friday.
One woman told the court she and her children were on the way back to their unit when her attention was drawn to what looked like a fistfight out the front of the Beer Garden.
She said she saw one man punch another in the stomach with an “uppercut”.
“After he was punched, I saw him stumble away and lift his shirt and grab his stomach, and then fall to the ground,” she said.
Several witnesses said they saw a group of men – described by some as wearing hoodies or Nike TN sneakers – walking nearby just before the alleged violence, with more than one claiming to have seen one of the men pulling a knife from near his hip.
Varying accounts of the alleged confrontation were given in court, with one witness saying the men who walked past him started “laying into” another man – who started fighting back – and other witnesses describing it as an “all-in brawl” or a “punch-on”.
Witnesses also gave evidence about seeing a knife dropped near the Beer Garden, with one describing it as a black hunting knife with a long blade.
Two knives found near the scene of the alleged murder were shown to the jury during a crime scene officer’s testimony.
The officer said the first – found in the corner of the Beer Garden gaming lounge – had a blade about 26cm in length and a black sheath, and the second was about 18cm long with a jagged blade and found outside, near a black baseball cap and pair of glasses.
An off-duty paramedic who tried to treat Mr Harris before an ambulance arrived also gave evidence on Friday, saying he had to use napkins from a nearby Baskin Robbins store to try to stem the bleeding before someone found a first aid kit.
He told the court he suspected a “fairly large” knife had allegedly been used due to the size of the wound, which he knew had caused internal bleeding from the deterioration in Mr Harris’s condition.
The trial will continue before Acting Justice Ann Lyons on Monday.