Court hears fatal Newcastle group stabbing attack was planned
Supreme Court documents regarding a fatal stabbing in Newcastle allege the incident involved multiple attackers and was planned.
James Callahan, 22, was stabbed in Beaumont Street, Hamilton, in the early hours of November 17 last year.
The Supreme Court has released documents to the media of redacted police facts that were tendered to the court as part of a bail hearing.
The documents said Mr Callahan and a friend stopped at a late-night eatery and first came into contact within the group at 2:15am.
They said Mr Callahan made a comment about one member of the group littering.
By 3:30am, he was pronounced dead.
The court documents gave a timeline of events after Mr Callahan and his friend left the eatery at 2:35am.
"At 2:38am, the victims are captured on CCTV walking south and reaching the Australia Post office," the documents read.
At this point, two cars performed U-turns, and group members got out, including one with a metal bar.
The documents alleged a woman in the group yelled, "Motherf***er" and, "Smash him", encouraging the group to further assault Mr Callahan.
The police facts alleged the same woman stabbed Mr Callahan three times in the abdomen and chest, as others kicked him.
Then others arrived, including another man allegedly armed with a knife.
He allegedly tried to stab Mr Callahan's friend before focusing on the wounded man.
"The man was forced to retreat, leaving Mr Callahan to the mercy of multiple attackers," the document read.
The court documents alleged the knife-wielding man then "stood over Mr Callahan and stabbed him at least twice in the back".
Another group member hit him, before he scrambled to his feet.
"Callahan stood up, completely defenceless and suffering multiple stab wounds," the document read.
At that point, the group members got into cars and fled the scene.
Police facts alleged plans were in motion to assault Mr Callahan from the moment the littering comment was made.
"There was a level of planning and coordination to this attack," the facts alleged.
The facts alleged the stabbing was intended to cause serious harm.
"The level of violence in this attack by the co-accused is overwhelming and there can be no doubt the group were intent on committing at least grievous bodily harm upon the victim, in company," the documents read.
Ryan Sampson, Jason Talbot, George James Fernando, Frank Allen and Alivia Briggs have each been charged with murder.
Dianne Fernando faces a charge of principal in the second degree to murder.
Teelah Cooper is charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder.
The redacted police facts were released by the Supreme Court last week, when Ms Cooper was granted bail.
The group of seven is due back in court on June 11.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
30 minutes ago
- News.com.au
National Anti-Corruption Commission declares no corruption issue with Brittany Higgins' $2.4m payout
The national anti-corruption agency has made a rare statement, doubling down against claims the $2.4m payout given to Brittany Higgins was political amid a legal suit mounted by former Liberal minister Linda Reynolds. Ms Higgins settled a civil claim with the Commonwealth in December after the former political staffer alleged she had been raped by her colleague Bruce Lehrmann at Parliament House. The payment was made in relation to future lost earnings, medical bills, legal bills and the distress she endured. Mr Lehrmann has always denied the allegation. A criminal trial was aborted due to juror misconduct and a charge against him dropped, and he is appealing a Federal Court finding, made on the civil standard of the balance of probabilities, that he raped Ms Higgins. The lengthy statement comes after Ms Reynolds launched legal action against the Commonwealth over the payment, claiming government lawyers had been 'hopelessly conflicted'. 'It sent a message to the nation that those allegations were so true, so damning, so abhorrent that the Commonwealth was prepared to pay her $2.445 million after only a single instance of mediation,' she said in a statement. However on Thursday, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) said there was 'no evidence that the settlement process, including the legal advice provided, who was present at the mediation, or the amount was subject to any improper influence by any Commonwealth public official'. 'To the contrary, the evidence obtained reflected a process that was based on independent external legal advice, without any inappropriate intervention by any minister of either government. 'There is therefore no corruption issue.' The body said the mediation undertaken by the government during the process was 'informed by legal advice' and said the single session was 'unexceptional' and followed 'approximately 12 months' of prior discussions. 'None of this is unusual for a non-litigated personal injury claim. A critical consideration during the settlement process was avoiding ongoing trauma to Ms Higgins,' the statement said. It also declared that the $2.445m received by Ms Higgins was 'less than the maximum amount recommended by the external independent legal advice'.
News.com.au
30 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Griffith University commits to pay back more than $8m to underpaid staff
Griffith University has signed a deal committing to repay underpaid staff more than $8m, becoming the sixth university to do so since 2022. Since 2015, the university underpaid 5457 staff across all of its six campuses, including academics, support and fitness workers – one who was underpaid as much as $92,400. It has signed an enforceable undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman, meaning it will be required to repay $8.34m including interest and superannuation. It is the sixth university to enter such a deal with Fair Work following The University of Melbourne, which last year agreed to pay back a mammoth $72m after a decade of wage theft. Since 2022, it has been a Fair Work priority to crack down on systemic underpayments in the university sector, with Latrobe University, The University of Sydney, the University of Technology Sydney, the University of Newcastle and Charles Sturt University all signing similar agreements. Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth commended Griffith University for self-reporting its breaches and its co-operation with the ombudsman's investigation. 'The matter serves as a warning of the significant long-running problems that can result from an employer failing to have appropriate checks and balances to ensure workplace compliance,' said Ms Booth. 'We expect universities to meet their legal obligations under their own enterprise agreements and underlying awards.' Griffith's failed to pay staff for activities including academic tutorials, subject co-ordination, and proper research assistant rates. Fitness employees were not paid split shift or meal allowances and progression between pay bands had been incorrectly paid. While the underpaid staff were located across all of the university's campuses, the majority were Brisbane-based. The cause of the issue was chalked up to insufficient training and data collection, non-existent payroll and data review processes, a lack of automation, and deficiencies in payroll systems. Under the agreement the university will also establish a new internal body to better consult between management, employees and the education union. 'Improving universities' workplace compliance is a priority for the Fair Work Ombudsman,' Ms Booth said. 'We look forward to working with the leadership teams at universities nationally to assist them to do the sustained, smart work required to ensure full compliance with workplace laws.'
ABC News
35 minutes ago
- ABC News
Griffith University underpaid staff by $8.3 million, Fair Work Ombudsman finds
Queensland's Griffith University will repay more than $8 million to thousands of underpaid employees, as part of an agreement with the national workplace watchdog. The underpayments, which occurred between 2015 and 2024, affected approximately 5,457 current and former casual, academic and professional staff at all six of the university's south-east Queensland campuses. Affected employees worked across the arts, education, law, business, health and sciences divisions, with the majority based in Brisbane. In total, the workers will receive $8.34 million in back pay, including interest and superannuation. Individual underpayments ranged from less than $1 to more than $92,400, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman. The ombudsman said pay issues were caused by insufficient training among course convenors and school administrators, deficiencies in payroll systems, and a lack of data review processes. The university self-reported to the national regulator in 2022. Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said the university had "cooperated with investigations" and had "demonstrated a strong commitment to rectifying its non-compliance issues". "The matter serves as a warning of the significant long-running problems that can result from an employer failing to have appropriate checks and balances to ensure workplace compliance," Ms Booth said. "We expect universities to meet their legal obligations under their own enterprise agreements and underlying awards." The university has entered an "enforceable undertaking" agreement with the ombudsman. Under that agreement, it must make a contrition payment of $175,000, which will be paid to the not-for-profit Cleaning Accountability Framework, which helps ensure fair working conditions for cleaners. It is also required to implement a range of measures to ensure compliance with workplace laws going forward.
