Fatal attack on Victor Codea at Adelaide High School ‘felt like 10 seconds’, eyewitness tells court

The three-on-one attack on drug dealer Victor Codea at Adelaide High School was instant and involved blows that were “not fairy taps”, an eyewitness says.

Having worked at her three jobs from 5am to 9pm, the woman known as “Jane” was not in the mood to socialise.

Yet when her old friend Victor Codea met her in a Welland car park, he insisted on doing more than selling her half a gram of methylamphetamine – he asked her to come for a drive.

“He was pretty adamant, like he was not going to take ‘no’ for an answer even though I had said ‘no’ … I just assumed it was because we had not really caught up in a long time,” she told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Minutes later, at Adelaide High School, Jane found herself eyewitness to what prosecutors allege was the three-on-one murder of Mr Codea, organised by his other passenger – Jeremy Dale Sandell.

“Jeremy got out of the car instantly and went to the car that had pulled up … I saw a group of three males jump out … Victor said ‘what’s going on?’,” she said.

“The person on the passenger side was kicking him, the person on the driver’s side was punching him … they weren’t fairy taps … Victor said ‘can we talk about this’ but there were no words from the boys.

“It was instant, the entire situation felt like it went for 10 seconds … I was thinking ‘what the f**k is going on?’.”

Thomas Nichols, Thomas Pinnington, Jeremy Dale Sandel and Kain Mazomenos, pictured left to right in handcuffs. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Sandell, 25, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter over the August 2020 ambush.

However he, Kain Mazomenos 26, Thomas Nichols, 31, and Thomas Pinnington, 25, have pleaded not guilty to one count each of murder.

Prosecutors allege Sandell, a drug dealer, engaged the other three men to bash Mr Codea, also a drug dealer, for leaving bad reviews of his product on the Discord social media app.

Giving evidence on Wednesday, Jane – whose real identity is suppressed – said she knew Sandell prior to that night but did not have “flowing conversation” with him in the car, as he was “on his phone”.

Mr Codea had told her they were “dropping Jeremy off” that night, but did not say where.

Jane said Sandell told Mr Codea “you were supposed to turn down there”, at a driveway prior to the school car park, but her friend replied “it’s too late now”.

The duo had, she said, “made an exchange” of drugs and money just before the car with the three other men had “blocked them in”.

She said that, as the assault continued, she ran from the car and hid in a nearby garden.

“As I got out of the car, one of the men said ‘we’re not here to hurt you’ and ‘look through the car for any other drugs’,” she said.

“I was curled up into my arms, I had my head on my knees … I had no vision after that … I heard when they left, that’s when I went back.”

Victor Codea, 24, was the victim of the fatal bashing at Adelaide High School in August 2020.

Asked how long the assault had lasted, Jane said she “had enough time” to consider “going onto West Terrace and getting out of here”.

“Then everyone left, and it was just Victor alone in the car,” she said.

She said that, when she returned, Mr Codea was speaking but “it wasn’t proper words that were coming out of his mouth”.

“He still had his seat belt on, he was fumbling around like he wanted to drive away but he was unable to, he was not in a state where he could drive … there was no blood gushing from his head,” she said.

“I helped him get out of the car … as he planted his two feet he collapsed … he became totally unconscious.”

Jane said she carried Mr Codea to the passenger side, drove him to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, got medical attention and then drove the car back to Welland.

She said she used social media to message several people connected to Mr Codea about the incident and the drugs still in his car.

“I was in shock … shaking, crying and screaming,” she said.

“I would not make the same decision now but at the time I was just wanting to know why it had happened and why he had put me in that situation.

“I went through his car … I thought he was going to survive and, once he was awake, his parents and the police would go through his car.

“I wanted to help him out in some sense so I was going to hide and hold on to the things in his possession.”

The trial, before Justice Adam Kimber and in the absence of a jury, continues.