Deadly Hindley St brawl: Victim Jack Hanley‘was trying to get away when killed by powerful punch, court hears

A young man was actively trying to get away from a Hindley St brawl when he was killed by a single “extremely powerful” punch that was “neither necessary nor appropriate”, a court has heard.

A young man was actively trying to get away from a Hindley St brawl when he was killed by a single “extremely powerful” punch that was “neither necessary nor appropriate”, a court has heard.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court was told that Jack Hanley tried to jump out of the way of Reece Watherston, only to be “aggressively pursued” and killed, on December 10, 2017.

Watherston has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, but prosecutor Mark Norman SC suggested mobile phone footage of the fatal blow itself would prove otherwise.

Victim Jack Hanley, 22, of Glandore, died after a brawl on Hindley St in 2017. Picture: Facebook

Reece Andrew Watherston has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter. Picture: AAP/Kelly Barnes

That would be supported, he said, by footage from the nightclub strip’s many CCTV cameras as well as video and audio recovered from passing taxis.

“(The combined footage) clearly shows Watherston attacking Mr Hanley, who is actively trying to avoid him by physically turning away from him,” he said.

“Mr Hanley’s feet were off the floor... he was actually physically jumping away from Watherston at that point, trying to avoid what was happening.

“Mr Hanley was not willingly or wilfully engaging in combat, a drunken early-hours brawl with Watherston... he was offering no threat or danger.

“Watherston aggressively pursued him and hit him as hard as he possibly could... it was an extremely powerful punch, neither necessary nor proportionate... and immediately turned and walked away.”

Watherston, 21, has pleaded not guilty to one count of manslaughter.

Opening the trial, Mr Norman said Mr Hanley and Watherston were strangers to one another, and each was accompanied by their group of friends.

Both men, he said, had consumed MDMA and cannabis prior to the incident, while Mr Hanley had consumed alcohol as well.

Mr Norman said the two groups converged on the corner of Hindley and Morphett streets having attended separate nightclubs.

He said one of Mr Hanley’s friends was “playing with” a piece of a metal shopping trolley — the smaller kind “one would use for fruits and vegetables” — just prior to making eye contact with Watherston and his friends.

“The court will be hearing from witnesses on both sides of the incident,” he said.

“Words were exchanged, which might have been friendly at first but quickly turned aggressive... there was a physical confrontation, and the witnesses differ as to who did what.

“Mr Hanley’s group will say Watherston’s group was hostile to them, while they will point the finger at the friend with the trolley piece.”

He said the most “significant” evidence would come from a passerby who was “independent, had nothing to do with either group” and was sober at the time.

“He saw Mr Hanley simply standing his ground and not being an antagonist, and he had a very good view of what was going on,” he said.

Mr Norman said the force of the punch would have immediately rendered Mr Hanley unconscious, sending him “backwards” where his head struck the footpath with full force.

He said that, while friends and emergency services tended to Mr Hanley, Watherston left in a taxi telling the driver “f--k, some dude hit me, I hit him back, somehow that happened.”

The trial, before Justice Anne Bampton and in the absence of a jury, continues.