Intended target of ambush that killed Mark Boyce in Elizabeth South tells court he blames himself for best friend’s death

Mark Boyce was beaten to death by three men looking for someone else. The fatal ambush’s intended target has told a court he blames himself, every day, for his best friend’s brutal death.

• Ambush victim was ‘in wrong place at wrong time’, court told

The intended target of the brutal ambush that killed Mark Boyce says he blames himself every day for causing the death of his “best mate” and the only person he trusted.

The man, whose identity is suppressed, has told the Supreme Court he was a fugitive at the time – and now wishes he had been arrested before the ambush could occur.

In his evidence, the man said he watched as Joshua Roy Grant and two other men chased Mr Boyce into some bushes and then, after just 20 seconds, walked away.

“I was buzzing at that stage, I was freaking out … I could not get close to Boycey because I didn’t want to see him,” he said.

“I didn’t want to get locked up but I didn’t want to leave him, either.

“I knew what had happened … I blame myself every day for it … he took my spot, you know what I mean?”

Mark Boyce. Picture: SA Police.

Grant, 27, of Andrews Farm, has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder.

Prosecutors allege he was one of the three men who kicked, punched and stomped Mr Boyce to death near his Hill St, Elizabeth South, home in January 2017.

They allege the fatal ambush took just 20 seconds and that Mr Boyce was “in the wrong place at the wrong time”.

In his evidence, the man said he had been living “all over the place” in the lead-up to the ambush, seeking to avoid both police and his “enemies”.

He did not initially choose to stay with Mr Boyce, however, despite having known him since he was a teenager.

“He was my best mate, the only person I trusted,” he said.

Instead, the man stayed with another person – whose identity is also suppressed – and, on the night of the ambush, was trying to get a ride to another location.

His first attempt failed, however, when the car bound to pick him up was stopped around the corner by police.

“I could see it on the CCTV and thought ‘oh f--k, oh no, here we go’ because I was on the run … I tried to get out of there,” he said.

“I didn’t want to get caught – I kind of wish I did, now.”

The man said he made his way to Mr Boyce’s house, and they agreed they would organise another ride and travel together to the man’s destination.

Mr Boyce, he said, also had a ladder propped against his roof “so that I could run up, get on to the roof, over the back fence and get away” if police arrived.

Instead, the second ride was greeted by two cars, the occupants of which got out asking “where the f--k” the man was.

The man said he got on to the roof while Mr Boyce tried to placate the newcomers, saying “I haven’t seen him” and “he’s not here”.

“Then Boycey was getting chased into the bushes,” he said.

The trial, before Justice Tim Stanley and a jury, continues.