Man arrested over fatal stabbing outside Elizabeth shopping centre
POLICE have arrested a man wanted over a fatal stabbing of a young father at the Elizabeth Shopping Centre on Thursday. A scuffle broke out at the site of the victim’s makeshift memorial earlier on Saturday.
POLICE have arrested a man wanted over a fatal stabbing at the Elizabeth Shopping Centre on Thursday.
A scuffle broke out at the site of the victim’s makeshift memorial earlier on Saturday.
The man, 26, of Elizabeth, was arrested without incident and on Saturday afternoon at a Findon home.
He was being questioned by police and he is expected to be charged with murder, a police spokesman said.
The man was on the run since Alexander Watts was fatally stabbed outside the Elizabeth Shopping Centre about 6.49pm on Thursday.
Police had been searching for Shaun Falkiner, the man they had named on Friday as the murder suspect.
A man was seen walking away from the scene in company with a woman who was pushing a pram shortly after the stabbing.
A white Holden Commodore sedan, believed to have been used by the wanted man was located in the northern suburbs by police on Friday afternoon.
“The car has been seized and is being examined by police,’’ the spokesman said.
“Police will be opposing bail and (the accused) will appear in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court on Monday.
“Police are appealing for further witnesses to come forward, specifically anyone who was in the vicinity of, or travelling on bus number 441 near the yellow entrance at the Elizabeth Shopping Centre at about 6.49pm, Thursday.”
Earlier, tensions erupted at a makeshift memorial on Saturday for the young father fatally stabbed at the Elizabeth shopping centre.
A small group of mourners — including the partner of slain father-of-three Alexander Watts — assembled at the memorial of flowers and cards at about 2pm on Saturday.
Shortly before 3pm, shouting and a scuffle broke out between a man and a woman in the group. Mall security quickly calmed the situation.
Earlier, Mr Watts’ grieving partner told The Advertiser “I’m not ready to talk”.
On Friday, she posted on Facebook: “Alexander James Mervyn Watts; The love of my life. We’ve been through so many ups and downs. I adore the ups and I won’t ever miss the downs but you are my world and I love you and my kids dearly.”
Mourners left flowers and messages at the memorial during the day.
“To my son, rest in peace. Love mum, CJ and Chris,” one read.
Another described Mr Watts as a “beautiful man and father”.
Mourners on Saturday also inflated balloons at the site and displayed them in front of the floral memorial
Police have searched a large number of properties in the metropolitan area, Riverland and Barossa Valley looking for Falkiner.
A white Holden Commodore sedan believed to have been used by the wanted man Shaun Falkiner was located by police on Friday in the northern suburbs, and is undergoing testing.
ARREST WARRANT ISSUED
Superintendent Des Bray, of the Major Crime Investigation Branch, said on Friday that police have issued an arrest warrant for Falkiner over Mr Watts’ murder at the Elizabeth City Centre on Thursday evening.
“We now know there had been an earlier altercation at the shopping centre between him and the alleged offender — the circumstances of which are not entirely clear to us at this time,” he said.
“We do know the victim and the suspect are known to each other.”
He said immediately after the stabbing, Falkiner walked away with his partner and a small child.
“We’ve had contact with the woman throughout the day but as yet, she hasn’t presented herself to police as arranged earlier,” he said.
“We have obtained some very good quality CCTV footage of some of the events at the shopping centre, including the incident that resulted in Alexander’s death.”
He said 10 premises were searched on Friday and police were actively looking for Falkiner, also 25.
“I appeal to you, Shaun, make contact with police,” he said.
“We don’t want anybody else to get hurt and it’s obviously not something that is going to go away.
“There’s security vision of the incident ... so it’s not worth running away. There is no doubt that we will eventually find Shaun.”
Emergency services were called to the Elizabeth shopping centre, on Oxenham Drive, about 7pm Thursday night to treat Mr Watts for stab wounds.
Shopping centre security personnel were already on the scene providing emergency first aid and CPR, before paramedics treated him.
Mr Watts, 25, a father-of-three from Blakeview, was rushed to the Royal Adelaide Hospital but died before midnight.
On Friday, family and friends gathered around his partner as she grieved for the man she described as “her world” in a social media post late last year.
Friends took to social media sites to pay tribute to the father, who they said was popular, kind and “would be sadly missed”.
Mr Watts’ brother, Craig Watts, posted: “Rest in peace to the strongest man I know, you always kept fighting until the very end, your were my big brother and I will always love you.”
Others promised to pray for Mr Watts’ family, while some said they could not comprehend the horror that had occurred in such a public place.
“No one should die like that at all,” one friend said.
A witness said Mr Watts received a deep stab wound to the kidney and the knife was pulled up towards his neck.
Falkiner is described as a man of caucasian appearance aged in his late 20s. He is of a slim build, between 170 and 180cm tall, short brown hair and blue eyes.
Police believe the attack is not random.
It was the third stabbing in Adelaide’s north in a 24-hour period.
In unrelated attacks, a man was stabbed in the abdomen, neck and face at a home in Elizabeth Downs and a man suffered knife wounds in Elizabeth North on Wednesday.
In the Elizabeth Downs attack, a 33-year-old man was arrested at the scene and has been charged with attempted murder, theft and assault police.
The man faced the Elizabeth Magistrates Court today and was remanded in custody to reappear on July 7. Police said the men were known to each other.
