Francois Joseph Ghassibe on trial for death of Brian Richardson after West Terrace road rage incident

A CBD traffic dispute turned violent and ended in murder when a man subjected a victim 40 years older to an “onslaught of blows”, a court has heard.

Francois Joseph Ghassibe, left, following his arrest over the alleged murder of Brian Richardson. Picture: 7NEWS

An angry, intoxicated and drug-affected man pulled off his T-shirt, subjected a man 40 years his senior to “an onslaught of blows”, then “lined up his head and delivered a powerful kick”, causing a fatal fall on to a main city road, a court has heard.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court was told Francois Joseph Ghassibe told an eyewitness “it’s okay, we will go back to the hood” and “I f***ked him up” minutes after assaulting Brian Max Richardson, 70.

Mr Ghassibe, 32, of Mansfield Park, told the court he conceded he was a killer but insisted he was not a murderer – and his actions were justified.

“I plead not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter by excessive self-defence,” he told Justice David Peek.

Lisa Dunlop, prosecuting, said that plea could not be accepted, given Mr Ghassibe’s conduct on West Terrace, Adelaide, on April 1, 2022.

Opening the trial, she said Mr Ghassibe had spent several hours in a taxi driving between various locations, discussing his consumption of alcohol, cocaine and cannabis.

That vehicle, she said, was involved in a lane-changing dispute at the Currie St intersection with Mr Richardson’s car.

Mr Richardson was at that time taking himself, his wife, brother and sister-in-law to the Central Market for laksa.

Brian Richardson. Picture: Supplied.

Mr Ghassibe is standing trial for murder. Picture: 7News Adelaide

“Mr Ghassibe said, ‘go straight, f*** him bro’,” she said.

Ms Dunlop said both cars pulled over near the OTR, where the taxi driver and Mr Richardson engaged in “physical and verbal” aggression including “shoving”.

Mr Ghassibe, she said, responded by saying “I’ll jump out with these motherf***ers too, bro” – with subsequent events captured by multiple CCTV cameras.

“Mr Ghassibe says ‘leave him alone, he’s just doing his job’ … he comes up from behind the taxi, takes off the red T-shirt he’s wearing and throws it down on the ground,” she said.

“From that point, he’s naked from the waist up, he’s angry and he’s on the attack … he can be seen to throw a punch at Mr Richardson, who backs away … then there’s another punch, another punch, and another punch, and another.

“Mr Richardson is very clearly on the back foot but the onslaught continues … he’s off-balance, unable to defend himself or do anything much more than have his arms up.”

Ms Dunlop said Mr Ghassibe backed up as Mr Richardson bent forward to pick something up – likely his glasses or hat.

“As he does so, Mr Ghassibe bounces on his feet, turns slightly and moves quickly toward Mr Richardson,” she said.

Francois Joseph Ghassibe will stand trial in the Supreme Court today, accused of the road rage murder of Brian Richardson, 70. Picture: 7News Adelaide

“He lines up Mr Richardson’s head and delivers a powerful kick which makes contact with his chin … it connects, Mr Richardson falls backward.”

She said medical evidence would show Mr Richardson suffered a traumatic head injury from impacting upon the road and died in hospital 11 days later.

Mr Ghassibe, she said, got back in the taxi and told the driver “go now, go go”.

“As the taxi drove away, he said to the driver ‘f***ing hit me, eh … okay, I got you, don’t worry … he hit you, I hit him,” she said.

“He said ‘it’s okay, we will go back to the hood, he hit you and I bashed him, that’s what happened … he hit you, I f***ed him up’.”

She said Mr Ghassibe maintained that version of events following his arrest, further claiming Mr Richardson had struck first by spitting into, then striking, his left eye.

Nick Vadasz, for Mr Ghassibe, said the key issues in the trial would be self-defence, who “instigated the aggression”, the reasonableness of his client’s mindset on the day, and the potential effects of intoxication.

Mr Ghassibe, he said, was also legally blind in his right eye.

“My client says that the first incident involved spitting in the left eye and, after that spit, the deceased punched Mr Ghassibe in the left eye,” he said.

He said the accounts of eyewitnesses, including Mr Richardson’s wife, would need to be weighed against potential bias due to the “age disparity” between the men.

“This involved no more than a step or two toward the deceased and no more than two or three blows,” he said.

“At no stage did he hold a murderous intent, at no stage did he want to do serious harm.

“The conduct is such that it reduces the charge of murder to one of manslaughter.”

In his evidence, the taxi driver told the court he had noticed Mr Ghassibe acting aggressively and “sniffing something” while he was a passenger.

He said Mr Ghassibe offered him cocaine during the trip “but I said no, then I heard some sniffing noises … I didn’t see but I could hear.”

The driver said that, during the lane-changing dispute, Mr Richardson’s “aggressive way” of driving made him concerned for his vehicle’s safety.

He said that, when he tried to merge into the middle lane, Mr Richardson adjusted his speed to “block” him out.

“I tried to get in front of him, he would speed up … I tried to go behind, he slowed down … he blocked me in, and then stopped and got out,” he said.

“I thought that maybe he would come and break my mirror off so I got out.

“He yelled at me, bad words … He said ‘motherf***er, you don’t know how to drive, piece of shit’ and things like that.”

The driver said Mr Ghassibe then got out of the vehicle and “came to help me.”

“They were punching each other. I got back in the car.”

The trial, in the absence of a jury, continues.